Fist of Naruto
by The Unknown 007
Summary: Naruto has always been picked on and downtrodden. What would happen if someone decided to change that? What if that someone was Kenshiro? See what happens when Naruto becomes Kenshiro's pupil. Will he become the next Fist? Will his dreams come true?
1. Prologue

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

Author Note: This is a "what if" after seeing both and reading many fanfiction, I finally found the courage to write this story that was bouncing around my mind. Constructive criticism is appreciated but if you flame me, they will go to Kenshiro. And we all know how bad he can be.

' ' - Thoughts

Prologue

Who is this Guy?

Konoha – 5 miles

An elder monk walks down the path to Konoha. 'How long has it been since I have traveled down this path? Hm… I believe it was about 15 years ago… I heard he has fulfilled his dream. I guess I will have to wait as see how he is.'

A grin appeared on the elder's face. "I guess we will find out shortly."

"Man, just because I was mean to that little demon, doesn't mean that I should deserve guard duty for the week. What am I going to do now? Huh… Who goes there?" The genin said.

"Sorry to interrupt your musing, but I just want to enter your town. I hope you don't mind." Said the monk as he walked up to the gate. 'Demon? I thought Arashi dealt with the Kyuubi.'

"Oh, not at all, although you do have to talk to the Hokage, if you plan on staying long," replied the guard.

The monk bowed, "Thank you."

"No problem… What a nice guy."

Sarutobi overlook the town from the tower. 'I am sorry I failed you Arashi. Your son is not received as the hero that you wanted him to be.' He let out a sigh, 'I am getting to old for this.'

"Where is Hokage, Sarutobi?"

Sarutobi turned swiftly and threw a dagger at the voice. Only to have it caught by a hand that came from the shadows. 'Wait a minute, how is it possible for anyone to get past the Anbu? … Oh no, of course, only he could do that.' "How have you been, Ken?"

The monk came out of the shadow, "You haven't answered my question yet. Where is Arashi?"

Sarutobi studied Ken. 'He hasn't changed since I have known him.' "You haven't heard the news, I guess."

"I heard about the Kyuubi, but it was defeated. But once again I ask where is Arashi?"

Sarutobi looked down, "Then you haven't heard all of it… Ken, Arashi sacrificed himself to stop the Kyuubi."

"How is this possible? He should have been able to deal with Kyuubi without having to die."

"I don't know about that but he did leave you a letter that he wanted you to read," said Sarutobi as he went to the desk and pulled out the letter. "He said that it would explain what he did to you."

Ken took the letter, opened it, and began to read its content. 'I should have known, Arashi always did have Lynne's heart…' Ken looked to Sarutobi. "Where is Naruto?"

The Hokage looked stunned, "How did you know…"

"It was written in the letter, that he had a son… Where is he?"

"Naruto lives in Arashi's old apartment… Ken, Naruto does not know of his heritage, Arashi…."

"I know, that was also written in the letter. Is he alright, who has been taking care of him?"

"No one," replied the Hokage.

"WHAT!" Exclaimed Ken. "WHY NOT?"

"No one wants to deal with the 'Demon Child'."

"What sort of foolishness, can't they… They can't, can they. They still see the Kyuubi, don't they?"

The Hokage nods. "The older generation does, the young don't know. I forbad anyone from talking about it. To the young, the Kyuubi died that day."

Ken nods, "I suppose prejudice and hate will always stay in the hearts of those that don't want to grow. Where is he?"

"He should be going home, school ended five minutes ago."

"I would like to meet him."

The Hokage nods and hands a key to Ken. "Here, this will let you into his home."

"Thank you."

"Get back here you, brat!"

"KILL HIM!"

"Why don't you just die, you stupid demon."

Naruto ran, as long as he could remember the villagers hated him. Today was no exception. Earlier Naruto decided to take a short cut to get to his home faster, but he happened to pass a bar. Needless to say, a few of the drunken villagers decided to remove the 'taint' that had affected Konoha, which led to Naruto being chase through half of Konoha.

'Why does this happen to me? I am not a demon, I don't know what I did to deserve this,' ran through Naruto's mind as he ran away from the villagers. Naruto ran and turned left, 'Almost home, just a bit further… Oh no.' A wall blocked his path.

"There it is!"

"No where to go now, huh, demon."

"Let's kill it now, everyone will thank us once it's done."

'Please,' Naruto prayed, 'Someone, anyone help me.'

The villagers began picking up rocks and looked for sharp items to use against Naruto. "Die Demon!" Exclaimed a villager as he threw the rock at Naruto.

'Please help me,' Naruto thought as he covered his head with his arms.

A second pass, then two, then three. Naruto peaked from his arms to see why the rock never hit. Only to see the back of a man, looking at the terrified villagers.

Earlier

"There it is!"

"No where to go now, huh, demon."

"Let's kill it now, everyone will thank us once it's done."

Ken heard the voices from the roof where he was perched. 'Demon, could it be…' He looked to see a group of drunken villagers cornering a child, picking up rocks and looking for weapons. 'Naruto…'

"Die Demon!"

Ken acted, releasing some of his touki to the villagers; he dropped between Naruto and the villagers catching the rock. He crushed it within his hand and slowly allowed the sand to pour out of his hand.

"Leave. Now."

The villagers having felt Ken's touki, shivered. One of the more inebriated villagers staggered forward, "Give us the kid. This doesn't involve you."

"When grown men decide to kill a child it becomes my concern."

"He is no child, he's a demon, he deserves to die for what he did."

Ken feels the anger boil within him, 'How dare they presume anything!' He unleashes his killing intent, knowing that it would bring the ninjas. 'Not to mention scaring these pathetic worms.'

The villagers felt it, cutting through their drunken haze. The cold hand of death grabbing them and preparing to send them to the abyss.

"W-w-who are you?" one of the villagers stuttered.

Ken didn't bother to look up, allowing them to fully understand how insignificant they were to him. "Kenshiro." Was all he said.

The reaction was immediate. The look of shock and fear appeared on the faces of villagers. "Hokuto Shin Ken," one villager replied as if to confirm Ken's identity.

In a chilling voice Ken said, "Yes, and if you leave, and I might not kill you today."

With those words, the villagers scrambled away from the man and praying that he would not come after them.

Ken restrained his killing intent, and after making sure that the villagers left, he realized that a crowd of ninjas had arrived. He grinned as he saw the ninjas get ready for battle. Suddenly, the Hokage appeared and told the ninjas to leave. Some protested not knowing what was going on, and wanting an explanation on the killing intent that they all felt. The Hokage told them that it was none of their business and that they should go back to their regular routine.

After the ninjas dispersed, he turned to Ken, "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes," Ken replied as he turned to Naruto. "Are you alright little one?"

Naruto nodded not understanding what was going on, but realizing that this man had saved him from the villagers. "Thank you," he said in a quiet voice.

Ken smiled, "Not to worry, little one. I won't hurt you, come let's take you home, shall we."

Once they had arrived to Naruto's home, Sarutobi asked Naruto what had happened. Naruto told him everything, from the bar to when Ken had saved him. Sarutobi hearing this was stunned and saddened, 'I have failed you again Arashi.' He looked at Naruto for a second before he held Naruto.

"I am sorry, Naruto. I did not realize that it had gotten this bad. Please forgive me." Sarutobi said.

Naruto gave a fox-like smile, "Don't worry old man, I am alive now. How about taking me out for Ramen, nee nee."

Ken studied Naruto, 'He is covering up how he truly feels, I can sense it within him, but he refuses to let it take over. How strong is he?'

Ken smiles, "Okay Naruto, Ramen it is."

"YEAH RAMEN, RAMEN, RAMEN"

'Why do I have a bad feeling about this.'

"You couldn't have told me about his eating habits."

Sarutobi chuckled, "I figured that you would know, you do remembers Arashi's appetite, right?"

Ken sighed, as he carried Naruto back to his apartment. "True, but twelve bowls of ramen, Yodaime could do that on a good day."

Sarutobi gently smiled, "True, but he did have a voracious appetite." He paused and a frown slowly appeared, "Now, what are we to do with Naruto?"

"We will see…"

Author's notes:

Hello everyone, I have been reading a lot of Naruto fanfictions and I never saw any combination of Naruto and Fist of the North Star. There are a lot of similarities to both, but no takers. I have decided to take a shot.

Please note – there is NO NANTO STYLES – Ken knows them all. Also, this will not be a Naruto is all powerful type of series, maybe – I have outline up to the Swordsmen before the final battle. So expect more

If anyone is interested, I could use some pre-readers to help me with the corrections and thoughts. If your interested email me back at

Flamers will be ignored unless I find you repugnant they I will just submit your email to spammers across the world… hehehehe hahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHA (hack, cough) Sorry.

Next Episode: Nee nee, who is the monk, and what does he want with me? WHAT he knows my father, what do you mean you want me to be trained? Next Time; new path unfolds – I will become the Hokage and everyone will recognize how great I am…


	2. Chapter 1

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

Author's Note: This will be a little dark in the beginning so if you don't like it well understand this is to help set up the other chapters.

' ' – thoughts

* * *

Chapter 1

This is my Nindo

* * *

"Nee Nee, Ken-sempai, I will become Hokage someday, and then everyone will know how great Konoha is."

"Maybe."

"Maybe… MAYBE, no way, I will become Hokage, I swear, this is my Nindo. Nee, nee, Ken-sempai, watch 'me, okay?"

"Okay, Ara-chan…"

* * *

Ken swiftly awoke from his sleep. After tucking Naruto into his bed, he decided to sleep on the couch since he never registered at a hotel. He entered the bedroom to look in on Naruto. 'You can still see some of Lynne and Bart within him,' Ken thought as he remembered the past. 'Bart and Lynne, Ken, Ryu, Arashi, and now Naruto. Have I live that long? I never would have thought it possible, but then, I never really thought I would be able to defeat Raoh.'

Naruto stirred, "no, no, leave me alone, I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Ken went to the bed and slowly cradled Naruto. 'He has had a bad life here; I can't just leave him, and forget what I saw. But my life is dangerous, even though I am considered a myth, do I still want to give this life to anyone else.' He paused as he stroked Naruto hair, remembering when he had to watch over Arashi. 'Arashi always did look to the bright side of life. To think that he trusted these 'people' with his son, shows how blinded he was the darker side of humanity. But still, Naruto does have the Void, the question is whether I want to train anyone with my style. Do I want to unleash the Chaos once again?'

As Naruto calmed down, Ken tucked him back into bed. For the rest of the night, Ken debated with himself about unleashing the only style the ever changed the world from darkness back to the light.

Naruto awoke with a start, believing that he was once again in the hospital, he was startled to find himself in his own room. 'Let's see, I was being chased, I was cornered, someone threw a rock, and then…' With a start, he remembered the man who saved him and treated him to a great dinner of Ramen. 'I probably won't see again,' he despaired, 'Once he hears about what the others call me, he will never look at me again.' Naruto felt so alone, for once he wanted a friend someone who will be there for him. The old man was nice but he could never stay for long, and everyone else seem to be against him. Naruto hated to be alone, he would do anything to stop this feeling. Naruto looked at his wrists, how many times have I tried to cut myself. He took a deep breath, 'Why, why do people hate me so?'

Ken awoke early in the morning to begin making breakfast for Naruto and him. As he prepared breakfast, he notice a large amount of instant ramen packages within Naruto's kitchen shelves. 'Is this all he eats?' Ken decided to head to the store, once there he bought enough food for Naruto, Sarutobi, and himself.

As he reached the counter, the clerk looked at him. "My this is a lot of food, is it all for you?"

"No, I am having breakfast with Naruto today."

"Why would you want to have breakfast with that… demon?"

"I'm sorry, demon?"

"Everyone knows that kid is no good, a waste of space. We should have kil…"

The last part of the statement ended within the throat of the clerk as Ken grabbed him by the throat and began to squeeze. The others within the store saw what was going on and froze as Ken unleashed his touki. Some of the ninjas who were there, attempted to reach for their knives when the touki froze them as well.

"DO NOT ever speak about Naruto like that ever again. If you do, it will be the last thing you will ever do again." Ken said in a deadly quiet voice that traveled throughout the store. All who heard, trembled as they wondered who this man was and why did they feel so powerless before him.

Ken dropped the clerk, and watched as he scrambled away. After gathering the food, Ken left the store, and made a decision regarding Naruto and Konoha.

As Ken finished with breakfast, he felt a large amount of depression emanating from the bedroom. 'It looks like he's awake.' "Naruto, are you getting ready for breakfast."

The voice awoke Naruto from his depression. 'He's still here. Why? Want a minute… BREAKFAST!' Let it be known that the one thing Naruto loved as much as being a ninja was eating. After scrambling out of bed and getting himself ready for the day, he lunged out of the bedroom, only to see Ken smiling at him with a feast on the kitchen table.

"Sugoi…" Naruto said as he scrambled to the table. "Itadakimasu," he said, as he was about to eat.

"Wait Naruto," Ken said, "We are waiting for someone."

"Demo… who?"

"He will be here, short… He's here now."

"Hello Naruto, Ken," exclaimed Sarutobi.

"Oya, old man, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"He is here to have breakfast, Naruto. Please be more polite, after all he is a guest." Ken said.

Sarutobi chuckled, "It's alright. After all Naruto and I know each other well right Naru."

"Mm," replied Naruto and he shuck his head.

"Very well, let's eat shall we," Ken said as he sat down to eat.

After the meal, Ken led them to the cliff where the heads of the Hokage overlooked Konoha. He, then, turned to them and spoke, "Naruto what do you plan to do with your life?"

Naruto thought, 'What do I want to do… What do I want to do…?' He remembered the time that he and the old man were looking at the mountain. He remembered what the old man had said, and he remembered what he said afterwards. 'Do I really feel that way… Do I really want to be Hokage…'

Ken and Sarutobi looked on as Naruto took his time to answer the question. "Why did you ask him that?" Sarutobi questioned softly, "What do you hope to accomplish?"

Ken glanced at Sarutobi, "I ask because I want to know… Because I may have found my heir."

Sarutobi was stunned, 'Naru… heir,' "Is that possible… Why now, why Naru…"

"He has the ability, and from what I have heard from your villagers, some time away could be helpful to both the village and Naruto." Ken continued, "The villagers need to be taught that Naruto is special, you can help them to understand. The time away will help the villagers forget what happened. Naruto, he needs to be away, he needs to be removed from the hate. To find out what it is like to be loved and acknowledge, if he chooses to come with me, I will help him grow."

Sarutobi nodded, he knew that what Ken had said was right. Without Naruto to remind them of the Kyuubi, the villagers will forget. Not forgive, however, that may come later. Also, he did notice that Naruto was beginning to close himself off of people. This was dangerous, because without that connection, he could lose himself in depression and possibly kill himself later on. 'Naru… please choice wisely.'

Naruto finally looked at Ken, and with a firm stance, he said, "I will become the Hokage, I will have everyone acknowledge me."

Ken nodded, "Very well, gather your things. Meet me at the main gate of the village, by noon. You will start your journey today." With that he turned around and walked away.

Naruto was stunned, who was this man who wanted him to leave the village. He turned to Sarutobi hoping for an answer.

"He is a great and powerful man, Naru… He can teach you things that no one in this village, no in this world can. I would take him up on his offer." Sarutobi said, as if reading Naruto's mind. He then turned to Naruto, "Naruto promise me, that you will learn all you can from him. Grow and become strong, and when you come back I will take you out and you can tell me of your adventures okay."

Naruto nodded. He was stunned, to be chosen by this man must be an honor if what the old man had said was correct, then he would be able to fulfill his dream. He thanked the old man for his time and immediately went home to pack all of his things: clothes, money, and some ramen, just in case. He took one last look at his home, he wondered if he would ever step back into this place. For a second, just a second, he reconsidered and thought about staying, but then he remembered his oath, his words, his nindo… With that thought, he closed his door, locked the door and ran to the front entrance, with a smile on his face, and wrapped in the knowledge that he was starting his first steps towards his dream.

After talking with Sarutobi and getting a pass to allow Naruto to return to Konoha, he went to the front gate to await Naruto. 'Bart, Lynne, I hope you understand. Naruto has the possibility of fulfilling his dream, but I must wait and see if he can fulfill mine.' He had come to Konoha to find out how Arashi was doing, only to take his son away from the village. Ken shook his head. 'It is for the best, for Naruto and Konoha.' He did not have long to wait, as he heard Naruto yell out to get his attention. He turned as saw Naruto running with a big grin on his face.

Once Naruto was next to him, Ken looked at him. "Are you sure that you want to do this. You will not see this place for a long time. There is still time for you to change your mind and stay here if you choose."

Naruto shook his head, "No, I will become the Hokage, I will have everyone recognize how great I am. This is my way, my oath, my Nindo."

Ken nodded, "Okay then, let's go."

Ken and Naruto turned away from the gates of Konoha. One with thoughts of determination and of being the best there is. The other with thoughts of finally finding… an Heir.

* * *

Author's Notes: Touching nee, well Naruto is off. I know this is a short chapter but I wanted Naruto and Ken's decision to have it's own chapter. I wanted everyone to understand that this is a BIG thing. For both of them. I hope you understand, Naruto's decision will cause some major changes, and with the power of the Hokuto Shin Ken… Well let's say this will help him get that dream.

Next Episode: WHAT… YOU LIVE WHERE? Next time on Fist of Naruto, Naruto begins training, but first, Ninjas, ninjas, ninjas. It appears that there are some people that want Naruto dead. No not that group, closer to hope.

Next time on Fist of Naruto: Truth Revealed: I am the Fist of the North Star.

Ja ne


	3. Chapter 2

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

' ' – Thoughts

* * *

Chapter 2

True Revealed:

I AM THE FIST OF THE NORTH STAR

* * *

Naruto followed the monk, looking intensely at him. "Umm, excuse me, sir…" 

"Hmmm, yes Naruto. What can I do for you?"

"Ummm, I never got your name, sir."

Ken took a moment to think back and realized that what Naruto said was true. "Your right Naruto, I never did… Tell what do you about the history of this world?"

"History of this world? Hmmm… Nothing." Naruto replied

Ken smiled, "Before there were the ninja countries the world was a beautify place where buildings touched the sky. People talking to one another over great distances instantly, man flying to different locations with great ease." Ken took a deep breath, "However that would not last. An explosion occurred, wiping out most of the technology and creating a world, which was a lawless wasteland. The strong preyed on the weak, there was no Justice. And many had loss hope of its return. It was a time where people feared to live, but lived to survive."

Ken stopped, slowly turning to his left and said, "You can come out now… Your killing intent has given you away."

"If you wish to live, leave now, and forget about today, old man," came a voice that echoed from the forest.

Ken looked at Naruto, and saw the fear in his eyes. 'He is afraid that I will leave him' he thought as he turned to the hiding place of the voice. "I don't think that empty threats will move me, and I doubt that a voice in the forest will scare me."

"Is that your final wish."

"My final wish… no, my wish, yes. I don't fear the voice in the wilderness, I don't care who you are, but leave, if you continue this I will be forced to act. If I act, then…" Ken paused to feel where his opponent… sorry opponents were. "All five of you will die."

The announcement of there being five ninjas stunned Naruto as well as the group. 'How did he know there were that many? How did he find us so easily?' was the thought that ran through everyone's mind.

Slowly from the forest, five ninjas began to appear. "You were warned stranger, let this be on your head." One of the ninjas said, as they pulled out their kunais ready to attack the weak monk and demon.

"No, your deaths are your own choice. I will only help you to the next world," replied Ken as he moved in front of Naruto, and altered his stance to get ready to use the Tenryuu Kokyuu Hou. He analyzed the ninjas in front of him. 'Hmm… one has Sharingan; another Byakugan; and the others are regular ninjas. Three Jounin level… and have an average level of Touki. The first two are ANBU level.' "Well come on then, we don't have all day."

The ninjas were stunned; normally an individual would be trembling in terror and running away from them. But this monk stood up to them as if they were mere children with no fear at all. "Very well then, we will send you to the next world," whispered the ninja as he lifted his head. "Sharingan!" 'Let us see what you can do so that I can copy it and kill you with it.'

'Hmmm… well I can't let Jun have all the fun. I will never hear the end of it if he does,' thought Kodai. "Byakugan!"

Ken watched as the two Anbu level ninjas called forth their bloodline. 'Might as well end this quickly.' "One warning before we begin…" Ken said as he narrowed his eyes and unleashed his Touki. "You can only hope is a quick death, but death is the only option you have," continued Ken as he cracked his knuckles.

'No way… what is this overwhelming feeling,' ran through all of the ninjas' minds. 'How can a monk produce such a killing intent.'

'Such power… How does a monk have this much power…No matter, the demon must die,' Jun thought as he pulled out his kunai. "Kodai, Sangi, Ugami, Zanki, lets deal with this monk."

Just as those words were uttered, the monk disappeared. Fading away like a mirage, without a trace left from where he once stood. 'Oh well, to bad for them,' Ken thought as he targeted the first ninja.

Zanki turned, "Where did he g-g--g---" was all he could say as he rose from the ground. Ken had appeared in front of Zanki and lifted him by his throat. With little effort he had picked Zanki up and turned to the other ninjas.

"I am anything but normal," Ken said as he looked at the group of ninjas. "To all of you I am Death incarnate, and you are nothing but walking corpses."

He then turned his arm so that Zanki back faced the other ninjas and raised his arm. "Koushu Hagan Ken!" was said as Ken slapped Zanki toward the rest of the ninjas.

The ninjas were barely able to catch Zanki, but even catching Zanki, they were forced back to the edge of the woods by the power of the throw. This caused Jun and Kodai to stop using their bloodline to catch Zanki. As they were force back, all but Zanki threw their kunais at Ken, hoping to get a lucky hit. Unfortunately that would not be the case as the kunais passed through Ken causing his image to disappear.

Zanki stared at Ken in disbelief. "Do you think a slap will stop me? You're dead… you hear me, DEAD!" exclaimed Zanki, as he charged toward Ken pulling out his kunai.

"No you are already dead." Ken said as he turned to face another ninja.

With those words, Naruto life would forever be change. As Zanki's head began to expand into a misshapen blob, his screams tore through the ninjas with utter fear until…

RRRRRIIIIIIPPPPP,

SSSSCCRRRRRRRR

BOOOM

The ninjas and Naruto were stunned, as the now headless corpse of Zanki twitched as blood pour from the neck. All at once the ninjas began to up heave the contents of the stomach as the death of Zanki repeated over and over again in their minds.

After several minutes, Jun turned to Kodai as said, "Kodai, what happened, how is it possible?"

However it wasn't Kodai but Ken that responded. "I pressed his tsubo, Gakuchuu which forces his head to spilt into two. Only those that are trained in my style are able to do this."

"Style? What style!" exclaimed Kodai.

"That is for me to know and you to die from… for attacking a travelers and attempting to kill a child. The only thing you will do is… die." With this Ken unleashed the Tenryuu Kokyuu Hou. His robes began to quake and rip as Ken growled in a low tone. Ripping noises were heard as the robe ripped apart revealing Ken's exposed chest and the seven stars that Shin had given to him so many years ago.

"N-n-no way, you're a myth. You can't be real!" exclaimed Kodai in a girlish scream, as he remembered the stories that were told to him as a child. A single man helped by others bringing order to a lawless land, and that he bore the marks of his style, the seven sisters that made up the Big Dipper. Hokuto Shin Ken was his style, and there was no one that could stop him.

Jun seeing Kodai back away grabbed a hold of him. "What the hell is wrong with you. So the monk knows some ninjutsu. We can still kill him and the demon." Jun yelled as he pointed to Ken.

"YOU IDIOT THAT IS THE HOKUTO SHIN KEN MASTER! WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" screamed Kodai as he tried to remove himself from the grips of Jun. With this exclamation the other ninjas turned back to Ken. They had heard of the legend. A style of martial arts that was created by God. An assassination style that had only one that was equal to it, but that style was lost. And now, before them was the legend.

'Could it be? The last time anyone had heard about this style was a hundred years ago…' "Is it true… are you that man…" Kodai asked with fear trembling his voice.

"Whether I am or not means nothing to you… You have been judged for your crime, it is only right that I give you, your execution."

It was the last thing Ken said before springing into action. With speed that had no rival he appear before one of the ninjas. "Atatatatatatatatatatatata," was heard as hundreds of fist appeared beating the ninja, with each punch raising the ninja in the air. To the average individual, it looked as if the ninja was hovering in the air, as the punches continued. Suddenly… "AT!" was heard as the ninja flew through the air colliding with several trees before finally stopping. As the other's watch, he began to expand and contract. As blood poured from the his eyes, mouth, and ears, until finally the entire body seem to explode into a mist leaving nothing but a bloodstain where the ninja once lied.

'He will kill us all unless we stop him first.' Was the thought that Jun and Kodai had. As they prepared themselves to attack Ken.

"Sharingan!"

"Byakugan!"

'So they think their bloodline can help them. Let's remove that belief from their dead bodies.' Ken thought as he sent the third ninja to his death and faced Jun and Kodai. He then disappeared and then appeared in front of both ninjas only to strike them in the chest, which propelled each to separate destinations. "Don't worry about the attack, they won't kill you. That I will do starting… Now." Ken said as he turned to Jun.

'I can't see his movements, even with the complete Sharingan. I have to slow him down. But how? Wait, the demon… hurt him will distract the monk.' Jun thought as he pulled out his kunai. "Kodai, get ready… Ha!"

* * *

Naruto watched stunned, having seen someone killed for the first time in his life, he was amazed that he could not feel any thing for the ninja. No remorse, no happiness, not one emotion as Ken killed another ninja. 'Why?' he thought. As he replayed his memory of the event that led to this fight, he realized that he could not feel anything because something had removed the emotions from him. 'Like earlier when…' 

"Kodai, get ready… Ha!"

Naruto watched as the kunai flew straight to him. Even with every thought telling him to move, he lay stunned, as if frozen without anyway of letting anyone know. Closer and closer, time seem to fade, as if someone wanted him to realize that this was the last moments of his life. He wanted to scream to move but nothing seems to work. 'Is this what the moment of death feels like?' Naruto thought. 'I don't want to die…' kept repeating in his mind. "I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Naruto finally exclaimed as he pulled up arms to protect himself.

"You won't Naru… I promise that today you won't," a voice calmly said as Naruto peeked from his arms to see Ken in front of him holding the kunai between his fingers.

"I have you now! BOOM!" Jun said as he brought up two of his fingers.

Ken then noticed that the kunai contained an explosive note. He knew that he would not have enough time to throw away the kunai, so he positioned it so that Naruto would not get any of the blast.

KA-BOOM!

The smoke was thick, and did not allow Jun to see if Ken was dead. But nevertheless, Jun believed that blast had killed the monk. However, as the smoked cleared, Ken stood there with the kunai still in his hand. Without any hesitation, he threw the knife at Jun, which almost killed Jun, if his Sharingan was not being used. 'That was close,' Jun thought, as he looked up to see Kodai and Ken about ready to fight. 'We have to hinder him somehow,' he thought as he looked around to find a weapon to use, only to see… 'Hmmm, that can be useful.'

* * *

"You can't say that just yet, monk," exclaimed Kodai. "Your in my range of Divination. Prepare yourself. Hakke Rokujuuyonshou, 2 strike, 4 strike, 8 strike, 16 strike, 32 strike, 64 strike." With the final blow, Ken was sent flying, landing on the ground roughly. "I have pressed your chakra points, you are powerless to stop us now." Kodai said with assurance, as he thought that he stopped Ken. 

Ken looked up at Kodai with disgust. Then, gradually, Ken began to stand up. "I don't use chakra." He said as he got to his feet, "Therefore your technique is useless against me. However, let me show you one of mine." With that Ken disappeared and reappeared in front of Kodai.

"Che… I will have to use that technique.' "Kaiten." Kodai shouted as he began to spin at a phenomenal rate of speed. 'There is no way that he can get close to hit me now,' he thought as he continued to spin.

However during his spin, he could heard Ken call out, "Hokuto Goushou Ha!" as a wave of energy penetrated Kodai's technique, hitting Kodai and sending him flying toward Jun. "It seems proud of your ability to perceive things. To bad that will end today." Ken said as he lunged toward them.

'Damn I will have to face him hand-to-hand and attack the heart,' thought Kodai, as he quickly got up from the ground. 'Here goes nothing.'

Kodai then charged at Naruto, hoping to distract him by the suddenness of his attack. As he charged, he noticed that Ken had stopped and began to turn toward him.

"No you won't," Ken said as he appeared behind Kodai and pressed the back of Kodai's head. Suddenly, Kodai's eyes seem to roll back into his head. He screamed as everything went dark. "What did you do to me."

"I pressed the Doumei, a tsubo that will take away your perception." Ken said calmly as he tapped two more points on Kodai's body. "You should not have attacked us, but it is too late for that."

"No! I don't want to die."

"Its too late. However, I will give you a chance… I will return your eyesight and if you don't move from now on you will continue to live, if you move you will die."

"STOP!" a voice came from the sidelines of the battle. "Remove what you did to him or I will kill the demon."

Ken turned to see Jun holding a kunai at the neck of Naruto. "Release him, or I will kill the demon." Jun repeated as he grasped the kunai closer to Naruto to show Ken that he meant business.

"If you do you will join your friends in hell." Ken turned toward Jun, "I know that these ninjas would never attack us, unless prodded. They looked to you for leadership, followed your orders. Their deaths are on your head. Do you really think you can order me around like your dogs. You will die today; there is no recourse to that. Let him go and I will be merciful. Attempt anything else and you will suffer."

Jun was torn, he knew that he could not match Ken with the power that he possess, and even with the Sharingan he could not copy the style so that he could use it against Ken. If what Ken said was true, he had no choice but to use the demon to escape and gather a bigger army to kill the demon and Ken. 'The elders won't like that,' he thought. 'I guess I will have to use the secondary effect of the Sharingan.' He then grabbed the demon and turned to run, when he suddenly realized that he could not move. "What did you do to me?"

"What I did was press the tsubo Kisha, which freezes your body," a voice calmly said behind Jun. "Now, you will tell me why you wish to kill Naruto." Ken said as he came around to the front of Jun.

"I won't tell you… gaah." Jun said as Ken plunged his fingers into Jun's mouth.

"You were saying?" Ken asked.

Before Jun could balk, he began to tell Ken everything. About how the Elders of the Uchiha clan decided to gain power by removing the demon and letting the village know that it was them how did it. How they would force Sandaime to resign so that one of their own could become the Fifth Hokage. He even told Ken that he was chosen and how he lied and convinced the others to join him using the lie that the Sandaime himself gave the order. But before he could continue Ken shoved his thumbs into Jun's temple.

"I have just press the tsubo Toui. Once I remove my hands you will have three seconds to feel remorse over the sins that you have committed before you die." Ken said softly. "Hokuto Zankai Ken." Ken said as he removed this thumbs.

"No, please don't, I don't want to die. No…" Jun pleaded. "No, no, no, I don't want to diiiii." It was the last thing Jun ever said as his body began to contort and bend. His limbs violently shook as his face elongated and turned. Finally as if by mercy itself, his body gave way the pressure and ripped itself to shreds.

"According to Jun's word, you were innocent, but we both know that is not true… He used your hatred for the child to easily manipulate you to doing his will. I will release you from the Shinfukumen, so that you can confess your sins to the Hokage." Ken said as he walked up to Kodai.

After doing this, Kodai drop to his knees and bowed deeply to Ken, "Forgive me, I did not know, I am sorry." He then turned to Naruto. "Forgive me, my hatred allowed me to be used, I see that now. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me."

Ken looked at Naruto, seeing that he was on the verge of tears, Ken spoke, "If you wish true forgiveness, go to the Sandaime, tell him all that you have heard. He will decide your fate. Come Naruto, let us leave this place."

Kodai nodded as he went back to Konoha. He was half way there when he was joined by another ninja. "What are you doing out Shisui?"

"I came to warn Jun not to continue… Where is he?"

"He's dead. Killed by a man traveling with the monk and kid…"

"And Naruto?"

Kodai being wary of the line of questioning, so he decided to lie, "He was killed. I was coming to report it."

Shisui shook his head as he approached Kodai, "I am too late, and I wanted to stop Kodai…"

Kodai looked at Shisui, "Yess it is too late… The child is de—agrh."

It was the last thing he said as Shisui shoved a kunai into his heat, "Too bad, you were lying. By calling the demon a kid you revealed that you no longer consider the child as a threat, and that you consider the child as someone close. Jun would never have been killed, he would have sacrificed you first before dying. Good bye, Kodai."

As Kodai died, Shisui looked into the forest. 'Whoever killed Jun was powerful; I could feel his killing intent even before I entered the forest. Whoever, they met was powerful enough to kill them and remain alive. I wonder if the monk that was traveling knows that man, then killing the demon will be harder than I thought.'

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest

* * *

Naruto was followed Ken, but his mind replayed the fight that he saw. 'So much power and he was so fast… Could I be the same?' "D-d-d-emo, Kenshiro-san…" 

"Hmm, yes Naruto?" Ken asked

"What did you do back there?" Naruto questioned as he looked up at Ken.

"What do you mean?" Ken replied wanting Naruto to be more specific.

"The way you fought was…" Naruto paused, as he started shaking.

'Here it comes, the fear' Ken thought.

"It was… it was… REALLY COOL. The way that you when pow, pow, blam, pow," Naruto continued as he tried to mimic Ken's actions.

Ken was stunned, normally people would run in fear after seeing the fight, but this child was enthralled by his actions and not the consequence. 'He really is Lyn's descendent,' he thought with a smile slowly growing on his face as he watched Naruto continue with his mimicry. Ken finally cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention. When he saw Naruto look up, he spoke. "Do you remember what the ninja said about my style."

Naruto paused and concentrated, trying to remember the fight. "HAI, he called it Hikito Chin Wen." Only to receive a bop on the head. "Itai!" Naruto exclaimed after Ken hit him on the head

"He said Hokuto Shin Ken." Ken said as he shook his head. "The style dates back over two thousand years ago," he continued seeing Naruto look at him with fervent attention. "This martial art makes use of the opponents' 708 Keiraku Hikou, also known as tsubo or pressure points. These pressure points destroy the enemy from within. The Hikou can also be used to heal. While a normal fighter uses 30 of his natural abilities, a Hokuto Shin Ken successor knows how to utilize his remaining 70. The style was invented by God, and can only be passed from one master to one heir."

"Sugoi."

"Naruto."

"Hai, Ken-san."

"Would you like to learn the style?"

"Honto, really Ken-san?"

"Hai."

Naruto looked downward. He knew that this was really important to Ken, he didn't know how he knew, he just did. After a short time he looked up at Ken, stepped back a bit and bowed. "I would be honored Kenshiro-sensei."

Ken nodded, as he looked at Naruto. "There is one thing that you should know, Naruto."

Naruto tilted his head and looked at Ken with a curious expression. "What is that Kenshiro-sensei?"

"In order for you to become my student, you must become my son… are you prepared for that?" Ken asked as he walked forward. Not hearing an answer he turned to see Naruto again shaking. "Naruto?" 'Did I go to far?'

Naruto stood where he was stunned, 'a son… that means that he would be my…' Naruto could not believe what Ken had asked, for anyone to ask him to be a son was a dream come true. 'To be a son, to have a father…' Naruto began to tear up as he looked down.

Ken noticing the tears instantly went back to Naruto. "Naru?" he said as he tilted Naruto's head upward to face his.

Naruto looked at the concern in Ken's eyes. He could not believe that what he wished for was finally here. 'A father, recognizing me.' Naruto lunged at Ken holding on to his neck as he cried into Ken's shoulders.

"I will take that as a yes, Naru." Ken said as he stood up carrying Naruto as he headed westward. 'Naruto has finally gotten a father, something he has wanted his whole life, recognition. We will see what will happen next.' Ken thought as he looked to the heavens. Seeing the Big Dipper flare up, he realized that the heavens themselves approved of his choice. 'Well Naruto, we will see what will happen, won't we?' Ken thought as he continued his track to his home.

* * *

Author's Notes: Well another chapter done. I know some of you wanted to know why I wanted to start Naruto off so young. The reason I have Naruto so young is that I want him trained before he goes to the Ninja Academy. I also wanted to give a background for Naruto and Ken before Naruto goes to the Academy. 

I a working on getting some pre-readers, so if you're interested let me know. Also, I am currently averaging one chapter a month, I am sorry about the wait but I want to make sure that each chapter matches the previous.

Thank you reviewers, I hope you enjoy this chapter because this is the first time that Naruto sees Ken in action and I want to start the next chapter fresh.

Next Episode: Ite, ite, ite. Why does he have to be so hard… Next time on Fist of the Naruto: Training begins; Naruto begins his training with Ken. See how Naruto progresses as he trains with Ken and see what happens when Ken meets the Kyuubi.

Ja ne


	4. Chapter 3

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 3

Training Begins

* * *

Naruto was sleeping, in his dreams he would always start the same. He was surrounded by people, every one of them looking away from him. Try as he mine they would never look at him. He could hear the whispers, "There he is the demon," "Keep away from that evil child," "Don't ever go near that child, you hear me." Each whisper, each word, made him feel smaller and smaller. 'Why do they hate me so? What did I do to deserve this,' Naruto thought as the people became larger and the whispers became louder as the people began to grow larger and became darker. Naruto curled up; he wanted to be somewhere, anywhere but here. 'Why? Why? WHY?'

Meanwhile, Ken was watching Naruto sleep. He noticed that Naruto started to curl up into a ball. As he went closer, he heard Naruto talking in his sleep. "'No, stop it, I am not a demon. Why, why, WHY?"

Ken heard Naruto and went to his side. "Don't worry Naruto, I am here," he whispered as he took Naruto into his arms and held him. 'His despair and need to be acknowledge will force him to push himself to greater lengths than his body will handle. If he's not trained though…' Ken smiled, 'I guess we will have to do something about that, won't we.'

Naruto's dream began to change, for some reason everyone vanished, the scene changed. Instead of everyone mocking him, he was surrounded by everyone that acknowledged him: Sandaime, Iruka, and Ken, especially Ken, who seem to smile and protect him. This scene replayed for the rest of the night as Ken watched over Naruto.

The next day, Ken continued to go north, as Naruto followed him. It had been four days since the battle outside of Konoha, and little had happen since then. Naruto had asked where they were going, but all he got was one word 'Home'.

'Home.' That word never set right for Naruto, even in Konoha. Sure the old man tried to help out as did Iruka-sensei, but there was something missing. Naruto never could figure out what that was, but he hoped that someday that he would. Maybe, possibly, hopefully… one day… he hoped.

Ken looked at Naruto. For the past few days, he had been asking where they were going. Ken had told him but for some reason, Naruto could not understand what that meant. 'Home' was a foreign concept for him. One that Ken hoped would end, for Arashi's sake… Bart and Lynne's as well.

* * *

Three Days later

* * *

Naruto looked up. The imposing mountain stood before him, a sheer rock face that seems to flow up toward the sky and beyond. But why did Ken stop here? What do we have to go now?

Ken looked up, "Naruto, the next few years this will be your home. Okay?"

Naruto looked at Ken then back at the mountain. He turned back at Ken, "Hai, Ken-sensei." Not really knowing where they would live.

Ken smiled, "That is only when we train, you can call me Ken-sempai, when we are not training okay?"

Naruto looked at Ken, his eyes full of emotion, "Hai, Ken-sempai."

* * *

A few hours later

* * *

Naruto was exhausted; he had never done anything like climbing up a mountain before. Every time he wanted to give up, Ken would urge him on, usually with a promise of ramen. According to Naruto's count, it was up to twenty. Twenty of the mouth watering, miso soaked, with egg, topped with scallops… needless to say Naruto, was desperately wanting his ramen. However, now that Naruto had climbed up the mountain he saw what Ken had said about this been his home. A large building carved out of the mountain, a building that one could not see unless they were actually next to the house.

Ken, himself, could not believe Naruto, every time Naruto wanted to quit, all Ken had to do was tell him that he would make some ramen and off Naruto went. 'What stamina, he has, but then again, he is Arashi's son. Some things always did breed through.' "Naruto."

"Hai, Ken-sama."

"Since there is still light, I want you to train."

"Train? What about ramen?"

"The ramen will be for tonight. Before we begin go and explore the house, there is no one here but us." Ken replied.

Naruto nodded. "Thank you Ken-sensei," he said as he went into the house to go exploring.

Ken looked as Naruto turned to leave into the house. "And so it begins…"

The house was not a normal house, by any means. In fact, it was in actuality a temple, a very old temple, from what Naruto could tell… However, even with the age, it was still well preserved and taken care of. The rooms were spacious. It contained a very large and soft bed, a dresser, and a desk. Naruto could not believe that such a place existed; the mosaics showed men fighting in a style that he had seen Ken use. The bedrooms were small but well furnished. The dining area was large and included the kitchen, which unfortunately did not have any ramen within it. And the main training room, itself, held two statues. Each facing the other in a fighting pose, ready to attack, posed as gods, carved in the stone, and a part of the training room. It was there that Naruto would start his training with Ken.

The next few months were rough for Naruto. Training as Ken called it would consist of nothing more that stretches, runs, sit-ups, and push-ups for the first two months. Whenever Naruto asked for a different type of training, Ken would frown and add more laps, sit-ups, and push-ups, as well as making Naruto wear weights on his body. Naruto would always go to bed late and extremely tired, and be awoken at daybreak only to have the routine start up again. After the two month, though, that routine changed, every other day was filled with lessons, but not the ones that Naruto was interested in: Math, Science, Medicine, Language, Rudimentary Engineering, Reading, and Writing. Finally Naruto had enough. He marched up to Ken and demanded to know why he had to do all this training. Ken's replied shocked Naruto.

"In order for you to be able to handle My style, you must be strong both in mind and body. The weight training you do now will strengthen your body. The lessons are used to expand your mind. If you strengthen your body, but not your mind, you will be easily distracted, which will allow your enemies to kill you. If you have a strong mind but a weak body, you will only be able to attack your enemies from afar, and that is not what My style does. Strengthen both and you will see why I am doing these things to you."

Naruto sat outside and contemplated what Ken had said. Ken was right. Naruto could remember how easily people could manipulate him, just because he wanted their attention. He decided that he would remember all the things that were taught to him, both physical and mental.

Ken noticed the change; Naruto did not complain but continued his training. He smiled, 'Naruto is beginning to realize that he needs to be stronger.'

* * *

Naruto

Age 6

* * *

Naruto stared at the cake that loomed over him. He could not believe his eyes. Ken, the old man and Iruka-sensei had decided to celebrate his birthday, something that Naruto did not even know he had. November 10th, a day that he would remember for years to come. It had started out with Naruto waking up and getting ready for his class, today he would be taught 'Algeebra'?

Ken took Naruto outside and toward the closest town. "Naruto today we will start a new sensei."

"What? Why?"

"The reason," Ken explained, "Is that you have an abundant amount of chakra and that will be detrimental to you if you don't know how to control it. Because of this, I have asked a teacher of your father to come and teach you."

"Who is that, Ken-sama?" Naruto asked.

Before Ken could reply, a smoke bomb exploded. As the smoke cleared a spiky white-haired man appeared from within the smoke.

"Yosh," was said from the smoke. "It is I, the most irresistible man, no woman can resist my charm. For I am… the Toad Hermit!" A man emerged from the smoke and went into a Kabuki stance, with a fan in each hand.

"He is also a major pervert, who likes to peek into the women's side of a hot spring." Ken added.

"I am not a major pervert, I am a SUPER PERVERT!" exclaimed Jiraiya.

Ken shook his head as Naruto looked at Jiraiya with a stunned expression (two large white eyes and a jaw drop). Ken then poked Naruto to get him out of the expression. "This is your new sensei."

"Ehhh--- Ero-Sennin! No Way!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Baka," Jiraiya said as he hit Naruto over the head. "I am the Toad Hermit, not Ero-Sennin."

"Nani, Ero-Sennin, Ero-Sennin, Ero-Sennin, Ero-Sennin, Ero-Sennin!"

"Baka-yo!" Jiraiya said.

"ENOUGH!" Ken exclaimed as he appeared between Naruto and Jiraiya. "Naruto, Jiraiya-san will be training you in controlling your chakra. For every other week, you will learn everything that he has to teach you. Is that clear?"

Naruto looked up at Ken. He knew that Ken was serious about him having to learn from the pervert. And he knew that no matter what he would do or say, he would still have to learn from the pervert. Naruto took a deep breath. "Hai, Ken-sensei."

Ken nodded; he knew that Naruto was swallowing his pride, and that he did not want to train under Jiraiya. "Naruto, I am sure that Jiraiya will teach you a technique or two, while you are training under him. Okay?"

Naruto's eyes sparkled with joy. "Honto, really?" he asked like a kid in the candy store.

Jiraiya sweatdropped, he could not believe what he just say, 'All you need to do to change his mind is to offer to teach him a new technique? I can't believe I was told to teach this kid. Sandaime must be off his rocker.' He then turned to Ken, 'Although it is kind of interesting that he would teach a kid. I wonder what is so special about this Naruto?' he wondered as Ken took Naruto away.

For the two years, Naruto was subjected to weight training; chakra training with Jiraiya, and sparring matches between him and Ken. Ken was a brutal sensei; the fighting/beatings would be short but very brutal, as Naruto would have another technique used on him. Afterwards, Naruto would be force to use that technique that was used on him, and if he got the technique wrong he would have that same technique used on him again. After each sparring, Naruto would always find himself in the same position, facing up toward the sky, the mosaic of the seven stars that made up the Big Dipper and the North Star. The North Star, which, his sensei's, his father's style was named after, and whose symbol was imprinted on his father's chest. 'I will triumph, I will succeed, that is my Nindo.' These words would repeat themselves over and over again as he looked at the mosaic.

Jiraiya, however, would force Naruto to exhaustion with climbing trees, and once he passed that, he would be forced to walk on water. Naruto did this over and over, and once he succeed in this Jiraiya began to teach him to walk on water using his hands. Each day with Jiraiya was one that would force him to the point of mental exhaustion.

However, through it all Ken was there, to help him after practice. The times he spent whether they were alone or out in the town that was close to them, were the best the Naruto could ever imagine. Ken was the father that Naruto could imagine him to be: kind, thoughtful, nice and one that respected him and listens to him. Naruto felt that the best thing to do was to enjoy it, and hope that it was not a dream. He did not know if he could stand it if it was.

As the weeks turned to months, Naruto had changed. His body lost the baby fat, and the muscles began to develop. Even with the physical development, Ken made sure that his mind would be as developed as his body. Because of this, Naruto had an intelligence that would rival that of a genius. However, even with these blessings, his chakra control was still iffy at best. Some times his chakra would work as planned but the majority of the time he would struggle to do the most basic of chakra control. The good thing that came from his time with Jiraiya was that his chakra supply soon became near limitless.

However, his chakra techniques would cause him troubles, as he remembered a fight that he and Ken had a few days earlier.

* * *

Flashback

The dojo

* * *

Ken and Naruto faced each other. Then suddenly charged at each other, Ken struck Naruto causing Naruto to stagger back, which allowed Ken to kick Naruto in the chest. Naruto was getting beaten and he knew it.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto said as ten Narutos appeared. Before he could continue, Ken appeared before Naruto and began beating Naruto. He continued to beat Naruto for the next ten minutes. It was the longest ten minutes that Naruto had ever had. Finally, Naruto hit the ground. "What have I told you about using chakra in our fights!" Ken yelled. Naruto felt ashamed, he knew what Ken had said, but in the heat of the fight Naruto had forgotten.

"Sumimasen, Sensei." Naruto apologized. "I knew but in the heat of the fight I forgot."

Ken looked at Naruto, he knew that Naruto did not mean for it to happen but he could not let Naruto go without punishment. He took a deep breath. "Okay Naruto, come here."

Naruto went to Ken. It was then that Ken touched the back of his neck. Feeling a light touch, he looked up to Ken.

"There try to reach your chakra," Ken said.

Naruto tried, but he found he could not reach it. He tried again and again but the same result happened. "How, What, Why?" Naruto asked.

"I have caused your mind to cease your ability to reach your chakra. I will release it once you have finish training with me, okay." Ken said.

Naruto was stunned, he had heard from Jiraiya that chakra was a part of the body and without it ninjas could not use ninjutsu or genjutsu. However, he also realizes that Ken had the ability to remove his ability to use chakra. This realization made Naruto want to know more about Ken's style. He promised to himself that he would learn everything that Ken had to offer. "Hai, thank you, Ken-sensei." Naruto said.

'This is good but I will have to tell Jiraiya that he will not be needed any more and that will be harder to do.' Ken thought.

Jiraiya was stunned. "What do you mean you want me to leave?" He exclaimed. He would not admit it but he had grown attached to the young Naruto, enough so that he taught him the Kage Bushin not Jutsu, and giving him a frog purse that Naruto promptly called Gam-chan. And now, Ken had asked him into a room to give him this news, Jiraiya was not happy. He wanted a good reason, a very good reason.

Ken sighed; he knew this would be hard. "The reason is that it is interfering with my training. I had to remove his ability to reach his chakra in order to continue training."

Jiraiya was stunned. He could not believe it was possible, to remove the ability to reach a person's chakra was virtually unheard of, sure you could seal some of chakra or remove the ability to use techniques of chakra but to remove the ability to access… the thought alone sent shivers up his spine. "Is that even possible to remove a person's ability to reach their chakra?" Jiraiya asked, as he looked down to the ground afraid of the answer.

Ken looked at Jiraiya, he knew that what he had said would shock Jiraiya, but it was necessary in order for his new task. "Yes it is possible, but for only those that use my style can one do such a thing," Ken paused as he turn to pick up a file that was on the table. "This is your new assignment," he said as he handed him the file.

Jiraiya was stunned, now he was handed a new assignment, he could not believe the gall of Ken. He tried to strike the file to remove it from Ken's hands but Ken was faster. Ken did not allow Jiraiya chance to repeat his performance. As he tapped a tsubo that would freeze Jiraiya in place.

"Don't try to fight it," Ken said. "The paralysis will only come off once I strike another tsubo. For now, you cannot move or speak. This file comes from Sandaime; in it will give you information about a group that is trying to gain power by recruiting powerful missing Nins. Their goals are unknown at this time, but what is known is that Orochimaru has joined their ranks."

"Orochimaru? But he only joins a group to…" Jiraiya said.

"Yes, that is why Sandaime wants you to investigate the group. Also, find out all you can about the members." Ken stated.

Jiraiya took a deep breath and took the file. "And Naruto?"

Ken understood that how Jiraiya felt, Naruto make anyone love him, if they gave him a chance. "You can visit, I know that Naruto would be upset if 'Ero-Sennin' would not come and visit."

Jiraiya grumbled, even after six months, Naruto still would only call him by that name. 'First Arashi, now Naruto, it seems that that I will never get either of them to call me by my name.' "And what about Naruto's problem with his chakra control?"

"The problem with his control is that his physical body can not handle his mental energy. This instability will continue so long as his physical body remains less than his mental energy. I will correct that, so that Naruto will be better able to handle his chakra." Ken stated, then raised his hand. "And before you complain about him learning ninjutsu or genjutsu. Let me remind you where Arashi came from."

This silenced Jiraiya as he finally realized who trained Arashi to be so strong. With that knowledge Jiraiya did something that he would later deny ever having to do. He bowed deeply and respectfully to Ken. "Thank you, Ken-sama. Please take care of Naruto, and tell him that I had to go on a mission. Also, tell him that I will be back when I can."

Ken nodded. Jiraiya then left to his room and packed so that he could leave as soon as possible. 'This will be hard on Naruto, but he is strong,' Ken thought. 'I pray that I can only help him to realize that.'

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Naruto

Age 9

* * *

Naruto was sitting outside of his home. He thought back at his life. First meeting Ero-Sennin, and being trained by him. Then to have to see him leave, only to visit when it was his birthday. Sure Ero-Sennin did give him good presents, but Naruto still missed him. (Even though if you asked him, he would deny it.)

After Jiraiya left, Naruto was put into more intense training. Currently he was sporting 70 pounds of weights on his arms, legs, and back areas. (Totally 350 pounds.) The training now consisted of finger pushups; punching and kicking a wooden tree 5000 times each part; and then a daily fight.

At first, the fights lasted 10 minutes, with Ken using a new technique for Naruto to find a counter for. Then slowly the fights become more intense as Ken added another technique for Naruto to try to stop, and forcing Naruto to not stop until Naruto killed his opponent.

Currently, Ken was teaching Naruto precision hits. He started by wrapping the wooden stump in barbed wire and only allowing certain areas exposed to force Naruto to only attack those areas. It was not a fun two months as Naruto remembered hitting the barbed wire more than once. And the damage it caused him. There were times in his dreams where he was running away from that accused thing.

Ken came up behind Naruto. He still could not believe that he had to replace the training stump. For centuries that training stump was a part of the temple. Many individuals had used it including Raul, but none had been able to break it, however within one year, Naruto had shattered the training stump. The current stump is now made from steel. Which meant that it would be harder to destroy, however, even now Ken could see the stump tremble under Naruto's onslaught. Ken took a deep breath, he had planned on taking the trip later when Naruto was older, but he could tell that Naruto was at a point in his life where he needed get back into touch with the outside world. "Naruto?"

"Hai, Ken-sensei?" Naruto asked as he stopped punching the stump and looked up. He wondered what Ken wanted, since Ken only interrupted his training for special reasons, usually during holidays and his birthday.

In the past, Naruto hated his birthday. The reason was because, while others would celebrate theirs, Naruto had to deal with the villagers hate. People would spit and curse him openly on that day. Even though, the old man and later Iruka-sensei did try to make is special, it was still a bad day.

However, with Ken, it was different. He now understood what a birthday should be. Ken would always let him sleep late. Followed by a big meal in the local town consisting of Ramen. Presents from the old man, Iruka-sensei, Ero-Sennin, and Ken preceded the Cake. Naruto enjoyed the past three years of Birthdays and the other holidays. It was during these times that Naruto would always silently thank Kami-sama for allowing Ken and the other precious people into his life.

It was two months after his ninth birthday that Ken told Naruto to get ready for a journey. At first, Naruto was afraid that he was going to be sent away, until Ken told him that "they" were going to visit some villages and check up on some of Ken's friends.

Naruto nodded, and went to pack. As Ken watched him go, he began to think of where he and Naruto would go. 'I do know where the last stop will be before we get back.' Ken thought as he went to go pack.

Naruto and Ken had been traveling for the past three days. The way there consisted of either sprinting or walking depending on how impatient Naruto was as they walked. Slowly a village came into view, Naruto turned to Ken, "Ken-sama, when will we continue training?"

"We won't, for the next few months it will be a vacation. The time we will use to let you see some of the world around you. Also, this is a time that you can use to open yourself up to people. Okay?" Ken asked.

Naruto thought over what Ken had said. For the next few month there would be no training and he could have some fun. The more he thought about it the more he began to enjoy the idea. Naruto then nodded affirmatively.

For the first four months Naruto had been traveling with Ken throughout the countries. From the wetlands of Lightning to the arid plains of Wind, Naruto enjoyed spending the time; he now had many friends from each country. None of them showed the fear or anger that he faced in Kohana, and each friend he made was one that he treasured and wrote to when he had the chance. Those four months were a great distraction for him and it showed Naruto that there were people out there that although were strangers at first, became his friend when he got to know them. However, once those four months ended, he and Ken began training but this time with a twist.

For the next seven months, Naruto learn how to fight… the hard way. With each encounter with bandits, Ken would back away and told Naruto to face the bandits alone. Each new fight force Naruto to fight harder than before, until he was finally forced to… kill.

Naruto could still remember the first time; it was when he faces his very first missing Nin. Naruto and Ken were traveling along the path when the group of missing Nins had set upon them. Ken had helped Naruto in the fight against the missing Nins; however, the missing Nin that Naruto was fighting with was determined not to be caught. With this in mind, the missing Nin fought like he never had before using ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, but they were not enough to stop Naruto.

Naruto knew that he would have a hard time considering this was his first missing Nin. He had tried repeatedly to knock the missing Nin out, but each time he thought the nin was down, he was proven wrong. 'Why won't he stay down,' Naruto thought, 'Is this what it means to be a ninja.' Naruto had stop trying to knock him unconscious, instead Naruto attempted to force the nin into submission. However, each time that Naruto thought that he had the nin ready to submit, the nin would pull out an astonishing techniques. Naruto copied each technique, which he would analyze later to find out how it would work. Finally, Naruto had having no choice, using one of Ken's low-level techniques, believing that it would stop the Nin. What he was not prepared to see was the Nin die horribly. As seconds dragged to minutes, Naruto stared at the blood spot that was once the missing Nin. Ken walked up behind him recognizing the blood spot, and realized that Naruto had used one of Ken's techniques.

"It is never easy to kill," Ken said as he put his hand onto Naruto's shoulder. "It should never get easy… because if it does then you will find yourself losing the most important thing… your humanity. If you ever find yourself losing it, think about those that are your important friends, for they will help you regain it." As the seconds dragged on Ken thought that Naruto had failed to understand what he had said, until… it happened

It was the first time that Naruto had lost control, for some reason he felt himself being pushed to the side as something wanted him to kill and kill and kill…

Ken realizing what was happening quickly took action… using the paralyzing Hikou to stop Naruto from doing anything rash. He then explain that there were some people that would stop at nothing even death to prove their point. These people are the most dangerous, they understand that they would forfeit their life, and are willing to do so. He further explained that only death could stop them. Ken explained that his techniques would almost always end with the death of his opponent, and that Naruto should know that if he continued to fight using His style then he must expect the death of his opponent.

Naruto nodded, he began to understand that there were some people that would not stop unless they were dead. However, this did not stop Naruto from trying to find another way. With each new fight, Naruto stop holding back, he finally understood what Ken had said back when Naruto saw Ken's fight. Each opponent was a corpse, to fight against someone that was trained in the Hokuto Shin Ken, was futile and hopeless… No one could stop a Hokuto Shin Ken fighter… no one.

* * *

Naruto

Age 10

* * *

After Naruto and Ken returned from the training trip, Ken had become quiet and started to teach Naruto the concepts of meditation. Naruto took another deep breath. According to Ken-sensei, the meditation will allow his mind to focus, which would help him to be better able to handle certain situations, and to keep into with the environment.

That was the idea, however, Naruto's meditation was anything but calming. For the past two weeks Naruto had felt something… dark, almost evil, when he meditated. It scared him. He did not want to tell Ken, because he himself did not know what it was.

Ken was watching Naruto as Naruto meditated. Ken knew that the Kyuubi had awaked, ever since the first time Naruto had killed. But recently, the Kyuubi was becoming more and more aggressive in its attempts to take control from Naruto. Ken knew that it was time to confront the demon fox and he knew that Naruto would need him now more then ever.

Naruto had noticed Ken when he first walked into the room, but was curious to why Ken stopped as he looked at Naruto. 'What is he doing?' Naruto thought, only to have the train of thought interrupted by Ken.

"Naruto," Ken said. "It is time for you to learn more about who you are and why the people of Konoha hate you." With those words, Ken settled down next to Naruto. He told Naruto everything from his relationship to Ken to why the people hated him. Naruto could not believe what he was told. First to find out that he a direct descendent of them, "The Protectors", "The True Firsts", the two individuals who brought forth the age of peace… He remembered the history from what Ken had told him, but he could not believe that he was the direct descendent of such a powerful family. Then to add onto that, was when Ken told him, who his father was… The Fourth Hokage, the one considered the most powerful of all Kages, even surpassing the other legends: The Three Sennin, The Swordsmen of the Mist, etcetera, and etcetera. Finally, the TRUE horror, the reason why so many people hated him, and why people would try to make his life miserable… Kyuubi, the nine-tailed demon fox was sealed in him.

Ken looked at Naruto, he knew that what he had told Naruto was a lot to take in but for Naruto to continue to grow he needed to learn what powers he possessed and how to use them to their full potential.

Finally Naruto spoke still looking at the ground, "Ken-sensei, if you had told me this a few years earlier, I would have become angry with Konoha, and would have wanted vengeance. However, after what we have been through I understand that fear and sadness can lead to anger if there is no outlet for people to use." Naruto then looked up at Ken with tears in his eyes, "Even though it hurts, I want to help the people of Konoha to realize that I am not the Kyuubi… Can you help me, Sensei?"

Ken nodded as he realized that he was right about Naruto, and that there lies great potential in him… just as Arashi had predicted. "In order for you to obtain your goal, you must control the Kyuubi. To do this you must enter your mind; I will help you with this. Okay?"

"Hai," Naruto replied. As soon as those words were uttered, Ken leaned forward and knocked Naruto unconscious.

Naruto awoke in a corridor, as he looked around, he noticed that Ken was in front of a door and was waiting for Naruto to meet him there. When Naruto approached, Ken nodded and said, "Remember Naruto, if you get into trouble I will be there, but also, you have total control in this area because this is your mind. Okay?"

Naruto nodded as he opened the door and entered. As soon as he did, he felt an overwhelming killing intent. He then saw a huge cage with the word 'Seal' written on a sheet of paper on the cage, which was the only thing that Naruto could see as he looked around to see nothing but the cage, no light, no walls, just an empty space.

"**So you came to see me, come closer…" **a voice came from within the cage. As Naruto was about to approach, Ken stopped him, and said, "You can stop that now. I know who you are and what you are. But what is more you KNOW who I am and what I am capable of doing."

A growl came from the cage. **"DAMN YOU HOKUTO SHIN KEN!" **the Kyuubi replied in anger as he tried to break the cage to get to Ken only to pull back as Ken unleashed his touki. Kyuubi growled as he backed away from the gate. **"What do you want?"** Kyuubi asked as he continued to eye Ken.

Ken turned to Naruto and asked, "It is your turn, Naruto. What do you want from the Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded understanding what Ken was trying to show him. He then turned to the Kyuubi and declared, "You have spent enough time within my body, and I want you to teach me everything you know and help me to become stronger." Naruto then stood firm while still wondering if the Kyuubi would take his offer.

"**Why should I? There is nothing you can offer me, you runt." **Kyuubi declared trying to find a way to get out of the cage. The Kyuubi knew that Naruto had become stronger; he felt it every day since the Hokuto Shin Ken Master took him as an heir. The Kyuubi then thought of what it would be like to get the skills of the Master, which was the reason why it was attempting to take control for the past year. However, now it knew that with Naruto knowing what it was trying to do and Ken helping him, that the Kyuubi would not be able to attain its goal… which made it even angrier.

Ken looked at the Kyuubi, "You know as well as I now that Naruto knows about you, you can not do anything but obey him. Furthermore you should know enough about my style to realize his potential."

"**And why should I help the kit?"** the Kyuubi asked.

"Arashi knew why you attacked, which is why he only sealed you and not kill you like he should have…" Ken said.

**"NANI! What do you know about it?" **The Kyuubi demanded.

"Arashi wrote a letter to me in it contained all that he knew… including about how a snake sent you into madness, and forced you to attack Konoha. That is why he did not kill you. He wanted you to get better, but he knew that there was no one that could handle your youki. That is, no one but one of his line, meaning…" Ken then turned to Naruto and pointed towards him, "him."

**"What does that mean, who is this kit?"** the Kyuubi asked with curiosity. The Kyuubi stared at Naruto, studying the boy… 'What is so special… WAIT, can it beeee…' **"Lynne…"** The Kyuubi said, in a quiet voice.

Ken nodded, "It took you longer that I thought, but I knew you would remember her… the woman you raised you." The Kyuubi growled as Ken continued, "Naruto is a direct descendent of her and Bart."

The Kyuubi went silent, it could remember when it was young: The death of it's mother; how Lynne and Bart against the wishes of the others raised it; and through their kindness, it trained their descendents who later became the Kages of the Countries. The Kyuubi took a deep breath and transformed into an older man, as he did he took a long look at Ken. **"You look older as well… Ken."**

Naruto was stunned, he had heard the entire conversation and had seen the huge fox changed into a man, 'How did it do that? What does it know of me and my family?' Ken interrupted this train of thought.

"Time does that you know, Chibi-Kyu." Ken said with a grin.

**"I always hated that name, so it is you Kenshiro. Then I assume that you want me to train him, and what about my cage?" **the Kyuubi asked as he looked at Ken.

Ken replied, "The cage can be unsealed but, Arashi gave me that information. But he wanted you to give Naruto the contract, and to help train Naruto since he did absorb some of your youki…"

**"No…"** the Kyuubi stated. Ken looked at the old man with a questioning look. **"I have live a long time Kenshiro as have you. I, also, see what you see in the kit… if the kit wishes I will train him and give him all I have to offer, including the contract. However, in exchange I want him to go after the snake, is that clear?"**

Ken turned to Naruto and asked, "It is your choice Naruto, do you want to take what the Kyuubi has to offer?"

Naruto took a long time to think of his options as he sat on the floor. He realized that both Ken and the Kyuubi wanted him to be the best. Plus the Kyuubi was offering some cool new techniques into the mix, and Naruto always wanted to be able to summon like Ero-Sennin. After much deliberation, Naruto stood up and took a deep bow to the Kyuubi. "I would be honored to have you train me Kyuubi-sensei."

The Kyuubi smile, but it was a different smile than the cold, bloodthirsty smile that the Konoha's Ninjas remembered. It was a smile of gratitude and happiness. **"Thank you, Kit,"** the Kyuubi said softly as it turned to Ken, **"It looks like we will have a long year ahead of us, huh, Kenshiro?"**

Ken turned toward Naruto, and with a smile, said, "Hai, Kyuubi-san, we do…"

* * *

Flamers will be ignored unless I find you repugnant they I will just submit your email to spammers across the world… hehehehe hahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHA (hack, cough) Sorry.

Thanks to my pre-readers, I am glad that you like the story.

Next Episode: Training is over. Naruto must now return to Kohana, but can he really return? Nani, why do I have to go back to school? What do you me I am a dobe? What this… testing to become a ninja?

Next Time on Fist of the Naruto: Back to school, we go…

"I will become stronger."


	5. Chapter 4 Rewrite

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

Chapter 4

Returning to Konoha

It was a gloomy day in Konoha; the current guard on duty was pinching himself in an attempt to stay awake. 'Man, why did I come to work today? There is nothing that happens, only traders and those that wish to speak to the Hokage.' As the guard was trying to keep his eyes open, an individual appeared, walking to the gates. The guard, however, failed to notice him.

"Excuse me," the individual said in a soft tone.

"Gaahh!" exclaimed the guard not knowing how the stranger appeared next to him. After a few seconds the guard realized that the stranger had yet to move or speak. Finally, after the guard had calm down, he said, "Please state your business in Konoha."

Naruto was amazed that the guard did not ask him to leave until he realized that no one had seen him for the past seven years. He had thought that there would be some recognition but after what he saw from the guard maybe things have changed. "I am here to see the Hokage," he stated.

The guard couldn't figure out how this child (well the stranger had to be a child to be so short) could sneak up to him without a sound. Shaking his head and assuming that is was because of his inattention he said, "Yes, well I suppose that it is okay. The way to his place is…"

"I know, thank you for letting me in." Naruto interrupted as he walked toward the Hokage's tower. "Ja ne," he said as he walked away.

"Hmm," Sandaime said as he looked at the letter that had been received three days ago. 'I wonder if everything is all right with him. But then, I am sure that Iruka can't wait to see him again.' He thought as he looked up at the four faces on the mountain, only to a half-masked man with a smile stare back at him. It took a few seconds before reacting. "NANI!" he exclaimed as the smiling face began to laugh.

Naruto looked at Saidame, "Hello Old Man," he said in a soft voice.

Sandaime separated from Naruto and took a long look at Naruto. Gone was the five year old; in his place was a confident, happy, young man. Gone was the scruffy shirt and pants, in its place was a leather jacket, white shirt, loose black pants, a pair of boots, a leather binding wrapped around his left arm and a white clothe wrapped around his left. Saidame looked at Naruto. 'He has changed,' he thought as he walked up to Naruto. "How have you been? Are you here to stay?"

"I am good. As for me staying I don't know yet." Naruto said softly

"How come?" Saidame asked

"Ken-sama, wants me to live here for a while before going back for some more training." Naruto answered.

"How long?"

"He said he will come and get me."

"So will you enter the school?"

Naruto thought for a moment, as he remembered what his father told him. "I will, however, I believe it is best to hide my abilities for a while."

"Hide your identity?"

Naruto nodded, "It is best if people believe that I was traveling and not training I will become a prankster and a loud person. This will hide the fact that I am Ken's son."

Saidame nodded, "It will lure people into a false sense of superior, therefore underestimate you."

Naruto nodded, "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow, you will start as dead last since you are starting out. I suggest that you use it to stay that way to keep everyone from looking too much into your past." Saidame said thoughtly. "You know that Iruka was worried about you."

"I know I at going to visit him now." Naruto replied.

"Ramen?"

Naruto gave a fox-like grin, "You know me too well."

Saidame smiled, "I think I will join you."

The next day in class

Naruto waited outside of the classroom. He had a good day, yesterday, as he caught up with Iruka and Saidame. 'Letters are great, but there is noting like talking face to face.' He had learned a lot about what had happened since he was gone.

Iruka was standing, wondering when Naruto would come into class. Just as the bell rang to start class, Naruto entered the room, and waited beside Iruka's desk. 'I suppose that he has to keep up with appearances,' Iruka thought as he remembered his discussion with Naruto at lunch the previous day.

Flashback

Naruto, Sandaime, and Iruka were dining at Ramen Ichiraku. Both Sandaime and Iruka were amazed at Naruto's dining manners. Gone was the speed eating that Naruto used to do, instead Naruto was using his napkin, and manners of a civilized individual. 'How? When? Why?' were the thoughts that went through both Sandaime and Iruka's minds. "Ehh, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"Hmm, yes Iruka-sensei?" Naruto replied.

"Why are you not putting away the Ramen?" Iruka asked.

Naruto thought about what Iruka-sensei had asked. "I guess that Ken-sama, had taught me a lot, including proper table manners," Naruto said with a smile.

After they had finished their dinner, they walk toward the Hokage's home.

"Hey old man," Naruto said. Only to be interrupted by Iruka, "Naruto, this is the Hokage, please be respectful!" Naruto turned to Iruka and gave a fox-like smile, "I know but I think that me being respectful would be too much for his system to take."

Sandaime and Iruka both shook their heads; they could not believe how much the young Naruto had changed. Sandaime then turned to Naruto and asked, "So are you ready for class tomorrow?"

Naruto smiled.

End of Flashback

As Iruka was lost in his memory, Naruto decided to put his plan in action. Using some tacks, Naruto attached them to Iruka's seat. Once Iruka finished his reminiscing, he introduced Naruto and asked him to sit down. Once Naruto sat down, Iruka took his seat. "AAAAAAGGGRRRHH!" Iruka yelled as he jumped from his seat. The entire class laughed as they saw their teacher grasp his behind.

"NARUTO!" Iruka yelled, knowing that Naruto would be the only one to try the stunt. "Stand outside and hold the buckets," Iruka knew that it was meant as a cover, but he also knew that he could not let it go. As Naruto left he continue his lecture, and once the next class, he when out to get Naruto only to see that he was not there. 'Where is he?'

Naruto

Age 12

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!"

"Hokage-sama!"

Sandaime turned to the ninjas, "Hmmmm?" he asked as he breathed out a sigh, "What did Naruto do now?"

"He has defaced the monument," a ninja said as he pointed to the monument

'Naruto,' Sandaime thought with a sigh, and then gave an almost invisible smile, 'He sure did live up to his promise. I just hope he knows how much paperwork I had to do now.'

Naruto laughed, as the ninjas chased him. He knew that his actions would get him into trouble, but that was part of the fun. Since he had been back, Naruto was able to let loose and have fun by pranking (he did have a fox demon within him after all). He continued to lead the other ninjas around until he sensed Iruka's chakra. He then tricked the other ninjas to follow an after image of himself. As they left he removed his disguise and smiled as Iruka spotted him.

"NARUTO!" Iruka yelled. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Naruto pointed to the monument, and smiled. Only to have Iruka hit him in the head. "NANI! Why did you do that?"

Iruka shook his fist as he shuddered. "Why did you do that to the monument?"

Naruto shook his head. "What better way to get everyone's attention?" Iruka shook his head and let out a sigh. He then dragged Naruto to the school.

"You will have to clean that up you know." Iruka said. Naruto shrugged.

Iruka started class with everyone reviewing the henge technique. Naruto had as he promised been doing a bad job in class, but only Iruka and Sandaime knew that he was just fooling everyone. In reality, he was able to reproduce any technique that Iruka had taught him and with Sandaime's permission he was able to learn even more from the library. Naruto learned everything there was to learn including the current affairs: the Uchiha Massacre, the war between the country of Fire and Lightning, and others.

However, for the past year, Naruto decided that he would keep up appearances until he became the Hokuto Shin Ken heir. He thought back to what Ken had told him…

Flashback

Naruto's and Ken's Home

Ken had helped Naruto pack for his trip back to Konoha. "I hope you understand that you will not be able to use any of Our school's techniques," Ken stated.

Naruto nodded, slowly.

Ken continued, "Only the true heir can use Our school's technique, however, I will allow you to use the non-lethal techniques, and healing techniques of Our school." Ken paused, "Also you can use the techniques that you learned that are outside Our school, okay? Just remember, Naruto, the less people know about Our school and you, the deadlier you will be."

Once again, Naruto nodded, still in a slowly manner.

Ken turned to Naruto, to see tears coming from his eyes. "Don't worry, Naruto, I will always be in here," as Ken placed his hand on Naruto's heart, "Okay?"

Naruto smiled and fervently nodded his head in agreement.

End of Flashback

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto heard his name, which brought him out of his thoughts. He approached Iruka, and decided to play a prank on him. He knew that Iruka knew about his abilities but was disappointed that Naruto would not show others how good he was. However, Naruto knew that he had to play a prank on Iruka, since he was so serious. With a smile Naruto formed the sign, "Henge." There in front of everyone stood a young, completely naked woman, which caused every male in the class to erupt with twin jets of blood coming from their noses. Everyone that is except Shikamaru (of course). "Nani, how do you like my seduction technique sensei?"

"NARUTO, STOP MAKING STUPID TECHNIQUES!" Iruka yelled, but on the inside he was amazed at how detailed Naruto's Henge was. Luckily, after the surprise test, class was over. Iruka took Naruto to the monument, and helped Naruto scrub away the mess he made earlier in the day.

The Next Day

Iruka and Mizuki were grading the test to determine who would become ninja's, Naruto having a bad feeling about passing, so he decided to fail. Besides, the Old Man could always overrule the decision later on. After Naruto failed the test, Iruka wanted to meet up with Naruto, however, before he could Sandaime had come to speak with him.

Mizuki seeing his chance to get the demon fox in trouble had set up Naruto to steal the Scroll of Sealing. Naruto realizing that Mizuki had ulterior motives agreed to take the scroll. When he left, he went to the Old Man and told him what Mizuki had told him. Both Naruto and the Old Man decided to trap Mizuki, by allowing him to think that he had succeeded, however, instead of the Scroll of Sealing, Naruto took his father's scroll, which contained his father's knowledge and most private techniques.

Later that Night

Iruka was awoken by a pounding at his door; Mizuki had told him that Naruto had taken the Scroll. It was Mizuki's hope that he could change the attitude of the villagers so that they would kill Naruto if they meet him.

The other ninjas were outraged, they wanted Naruto, but knew that the Hokage would not allow any harm to fall on Naruto. However, they had hoped that they could force the Hokage to allow them to find Naruto, which meant that Naruto would mysteriously have bruises from the "fight" they would have.

Meanwhile

Naruto was studying his father's scroll, reading about how his father had created some of his techniques that were based from some of the principles of the Hokuto Shin Ken. Naruto felt two individuals coming closer to him. As Iruka approached, Naruto frowned slightly as he sensed Mizuki in the background. He knew that he had to keep up with appearances, so he decided to keep up with appearances.

Iruka approached Naruto, as he did he noticed Naruto's eyes go first to him then off to the left. He knew that he had to keep up with appearances if there were people around. So he approach Naruto, once he got within distance, he acted.

"Hey Naruto," Iruka grumbled.

After hearing Iruka, Naruto knew that Iruka got the message. He replied, "Oh man, I got caught and I only learned one technique. Hey, I'm going to show you a great technique, so let me graduate if I can do it! If I show you a technique from the scroll, I can graduate, right?"

Iruka was shocked, "Who said that?"

Naruto replied, "Mizuki!"

Iruka was shocked, he knew that Mizuki was strange at times, but how could he do this to Naruto. But then he realized that Naruto knew what Mizuki was doing, which would explain why Naruto had alerted him. 'This is a trap.' Before he could continue, he heard the kunais fly. He pushed Naruto out of the way, only to take the attack. He then ordered Naruto not to give the scroll to Mizuki.

Mizuki, realizing that Naruto was stunned decided to tell him of his origins, or more specifically that he was the nine-tail fox. He hoped that this revelation would cause Naruto to lose control and allow him to get closer and kill the demon child.

Mizuki attacked only to have Iruka attempt to stop his attack. However, without either of them knowing, Naruto smiled. 'Gotcha.' As the huge shuriken approached Naruto, Iruka tried to stop the attack… That was the plan, unfortunately, plans change.

Naruto acted, he pushed Iruka down as he caught the shuriken. With a flick of his wrist he sent the shuriken at the tree where Mizuki was standing on. The counter attack was unexpected and allowed Naruto to send Mizuki down to the ground floor.

Mizuki was stunned, where was the uncertain, frighten look, where were those feelings. Mizuki did not understand what was going on, this uncertainty caused him to miss the counterattack. He could not recover in time, as the ground approached him, he could only attempt a semi soft landing. As he got up, he saw Naruto peel off the false label from the scroll he carried.

"I hope you don't mind traitor, but I knew about your little plan once I heard you offer to help me. I knew that I would need evidence of your betrayal so I asked the Old Man to give me a different scroll and I used it to draw you out." Naruto said as he pulled the label off to reveal the true name of the scroll, 'Uzumaki Scroll'. Both Iruka and Mizuki could not believe what they were seeing. Mizuki could not believe that the demon could trick him into believing that he had gotten the Scroll of Sealing, while Iruka was relieved that he had been right about Naruto.

While Mizuki was fuming, thinking of new and inventive ways to hurt Naruto, Naruto attacked. Using the speed that could only come from those that were trained in the art of Hokuto Shin Ken, Naruto slipped behind Mizuki and struck the back of the knees. As Mizuki collapsed, Naruto began to spin around Mizuki. As he turned, he took Mizuki's kunais and begun to slash at Mizuki repeatedly, causing long, deep cuts to appear. However, before Naruto to finish the job, Mizuki had regained control and used Kawarimi to dodge any more hits. Mizuki then took off hoping to get away from that demon child.

'Must get away, must get away, must get away,' was the chant that repeated itself over and over again in Mizuki's mind. Only to trip and fall to the ground, Mizuki looked at his feet, to see a piece of wood, which had tripped his feet.

"I hate it when prey tries to run. It just takes longer for them to realize that it is hopeless," a deep, scratchy voice from the darkness said.

Mizuki pulled out his kunai and scanned the forest around him, looking for the origin of the voice. He then noticed something staring at him, two dots of red glowing in the night. Mizuki did not know what it was but he knew that he could not take any chances. He attached an exploding note and threw it at the glowing eyes. Once the kunai was thrown, Mizuki counted to five and ignited the note.

BOOM

The explosion was massive, and Mizuki knew that it would be noticed by everyone, but he needed to get rid of the snoop. As he got himself back up he heard a branch snap and saw the Iruka had caught up to him. Mizuki growled as he searched through his inventory to find something to use. He then went for his large shuriken on his back and pulled a smoke bomb out of his pouch. As Iruka got ready for battle, Mizuki threw the smoke bomb and fled. As soon as the smoke cleared Iruka could not find Mizuki anywhere in the area.

'Shit! I have to be more careful, I have to leave the area before the ANBU catch me,' Mizuki thought, not noticing that above his head was a blonde who was keeping up with his pace.

'Have to let him get away from everyone else so they won't see my moves… Almost there, almost there… Now!' Naruto thought as he made some hand symbols and said, "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

A sudden flash of fire flew before Mizuki's eyes, and before he could react, he felt the technique. Which sent him flying back, breaking trees as he flew. When he finally stopped, he tried to move only to find his legs not responding to his mental commands. He tried again to move his legs again hoping for some response, however, there was no response. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before Konoha's ninjas found him and he did not want to go through Ibiki's lessons. He pulled out his last exploding note. 'If I am going down I will take as many of them as I can,' Mizuki thought.

Naruto watched Mizuki, from his fall to him getting the explosive note from his pocket. 'I better end this, you would think that a sensei would be able to teach his students even if it was life and death,' Naruto thought as he got ready to end the chase.

"I had hoped for a better chase, but I suppose that you can't expect much from a traitor. Especially, from one who uses kids to do their dirty work," Naruto said as he appeared before Mizuki and began to slowly walk toward Mizuki, cracking his knuckles along the way. Mizuki tried hard to move away from the demon child, but realized that he still had the explosive note. 'If I am going to die I might as well take that demon child… he ruined everything,' Mizuki thought as he pulled out his note preparing to detonate it. Before he could detonate it, Naruto appeared before him taking the note and throwing it like a knife off to a distance.

"Boom," Naruto said. The explosion that followed was incredible, however, Naruto remained unaffected as debris flew past him. "I hope that you could have done better than that," Naruto said as the explosion died down, "I guess I was wrong." Naruto then proceed to beat Mizuki, making sure to hit the more sensitive areas more than once, and extremely hard.

Iruka followed the explosions, he knew that Naruto was training when he was away from Konoha, but he didn't know how far Naruto's training was. He hoped that he was not too late. As he approached the explosion site, he saw Naruto and Mizuki, or more precisely, what appeared to be Mizuki after he was put through a blender. When he finally arrived behind Naruto, what he saw as truly amazing. Mizuki, a chuunin, was trying his hardest to back away from Naruto. Iruka could see the fear in Mizuki's eyes; however, Naruto was not done just yet. With a final yell, Naruto launched himself toward Mizuki and ended the fight with a single punch in the stomach.

Sandaime was looking at his seeing globe. He watched the entire fight, with a smile on his face. 'Naruto sure has grown since he left us.' The Hokage looked at the monument once again. 'You were right; your son will be a great hero, Arashi. I just wish you could have seen this,' he thought with a smile.

Sandaime walked outside to face the crowd of ninjas.

"Hokage-sama, why have you called us back? We have not found Naruto," one of the ninjas said.

Sandaime, then, calmed the ninjas, and explained what he and Naruto had planned and that he needed everyone to think that Naruto stole the scroll in order to flush out the traitor. Needless to say that everyone was stunned that Naruto could think of such a plan and execute it with such precision.

Meanwhile

Iruka had finished tying up Mizuki and sat down leaning back on a tree. "Naruto."

"Hmm?" Naruto asked.

"Come here." Naruto did as Iruka asked. "Close your eyes." Naruto curious on what Iruka was doing followed his instructions.

"All right, open your eyes," Iruka said.

As Naruto opened his eyes, he noticed that Iruka had taken his goggles and did not have his headband.

"Congratulations. You graduated," Iruka said softly.

Naruto in tears, lunged at Iruka, and began to cry.

Iruka looked at Naruto, 'You definitely will become the Hokage, Naruto.'

Flamers will be ignored unless I find you repugnant they I will just submit your email to spammers across the world… hehehehe hahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHA (hack, cough) Sorry.

Thanks to my pre-readers, this story is what it is because of you.

Also, if anyone is interested, I would like more pre-readers, to help with the story.

Author's notes: Some people have asked questions about why Kyuubi was afraid of Ken. My opinion is that Ken was there when Kyuubi was found and Kyuubi did see some of Ken's battles, which are brutal even for the demon. Also, I will be putting Sakura and Sasuke with Naruto, only there will be some differences from now on.

Next episode: I am finally a ninja, now my journey begins… WHAT who is this kid? NANI! Why do I have to be grouped with them!

Next time on Fist of Naruto: Konohamaru and the creation of the new Team.


	6. Chapter 5

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul. 

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 5

Konohamaru…

And The Creation of Team Seven

* * *

Naruto had finished turning in Mizuki, Sandaime had allowed him to keep his father's scroll and added gave Naruto three others. Each scroll talked about how to improve the body and mind. Naruto knew that his father was a genius, after all what ninja could become a Kage before he reached his 40s. No one but his father, and after studying the Scroll of Speed, Naruto knew that his father was truly a talented man, when it came to creating Jutsus. For the rest of the night, Naruto studied the Scroll of Speed, learning all that he could about his father's most famous Jutsu: Shishin No Jutsu.

* * *

The Next Morning

* * *

"One, Two, One, Two.'' It was early morning and Naruto was practicing on a steel pole, hitting it repeatedly. 'Today is the day I get my picture taken, what will I do?' Naruto thought as he continued his training. 'Should I continue my masquerade or will I be the real me?' For the rest of the morning, Naruto would debate whether or not to continue to act like a dobe. 

As Naruto approached the tower, he decided to talk to the Old Man and figure out what to do. After his talk with Sandaime about how he should act, he decided that he would continue his masquerade until he was sure that he was ready to end it. As he went up to the get his picture taken, he made sure that everything was set up properly.

"Are you Sure?"

"Yeah, take the picture!"

Sandaime sat in front of Naruto, he knew that Naruto was going to keep his cover, but the picture was horrible. What ninja would paint his face like a Kabuki? Sandaime then remembered Arashi, and how he dressed up as a horrible-looking trannie just to see if what the Hokage would say, and as a joke colored his hair pink to make it even more unbelievable. After a short time reminiscing, Sandaime told Naruto to get his picture changed. After explaining that his picture would be used to help clients choose who to use in missions, he had hoped that Naruto would see the light. However, Naruto, being in character, was adamant about not changing his picture, and after a short argument used his pervert technique to help win the fight.

Once Sandaime awoke from his brief blood-loss induced coma, he was going to respond to Naruto's act. However, before Sandaime could begin, the door opened and out came a child screaming to Sandaime. Naruto reacted by going in front of Sandaime. However, this was unnecessary as the child soon tripped over his scarf and fell to the floor. Sandaime could not believe that his grandson had tripped, and almost missed Ebisu entry if he did not see Naruto remain tense after the child fell.

Naruto could not believe what was happening, first the child then an idiot looking man, which was looking at him the same way the villagers do. 'Che, what is with this guy, and who is the kid?' Naruto thought.

The child awoke from his fall and blamed Naruto for tripping him. Naruto instantly took offence and grabbed the kid, yelling that the child fell by himself. Ebisu saw this happened and yelled at Naruto to let go of Sandaime's grandson. Naruto stalled for a minute to look at the kid, 'So this is Konohamaru. I thought that he would be less ostentatious.'

Konohamaru thought that Naruto stalled because of Konohamaru's status, because of this he attempted to use his status to threaten Naruto into submission. However, Naruto being himself decided to teach Konohamaru a lesson, using… his… Pinky. Naruto flicked Konohamaru on the nose, which cause Konohamaru was sent flying to Ebisu. Both Ebisu and Konohamaru; hit the wall, with Ebisu making a sizable dent in the wall. Sandaime shook his head as the other stared at the wall, not believing Naruto's strength. Naruto decided to leave for the day, however soon after he left, Konohamaru followed.

Naruto was walking to his training ground when he noticed that he was being followed. He knew that Sandaime worried about Konohamaru, and that he himself was in no danger. Naruto turned slowly a couple of times to see how Konohamaru was doing only to see some really bad disguises: a rock with feet, a fence that had wood going parallel to the street, and finally a really short pole with no wires running to it. Naruto, finally, asked what Konohamaru was doing following him. When he heard that Konohamaru wanted to learn the temptation technique, Naruto paused and decided that he would let Konohamaru have the technique, but first, he needed to see how far Konohamaru's training was. As they both walked, Naruto asked question to determine Konohamaru's skill. After, an attempt at the temptation technique, Naruto knew that he would have to work on Konohamaru to get him to the level that Naruto wanted. After a short time 'researching', Naruto led Konohamaru to a practice field away from Konoha. It was then that he found out why everyone was hitting him and not Konohamaru. Konohamaru, then went on about how he wanted to be away from his grandfather's shadow, unfortunately, Konohamaru made the mistake of telling Naruto what Ebisu said about shortcuts.

Naruto gently knocked Konohamaru on his head. Once he got Konohamaru's attention, Naruto told him that there were no easy way, no shortcuts. "If you wanted to get away from his grandfather's shadow, then he would have to work hard and surpass his grandfather," Naruto said as his back was facing Konohamaru. "However, if you think that you can get the Hokage title, then you will have to surpass me," Naruto continued as he let out a small amount of killer intent to show Konohamaru that he was serious.

He then had Konohamaru practice until he got the seduction technique down, and then did some practice runs to make sure that Konohamaru remembered how to do the technique. During this time, Naruto was also teaching Konohamaru about life.

After they had finished, Erisu showed up, Konohamaru decided to use his technique only to see it fail. However, as Erisu ranted, Naruto decided to shows this idiot a lesson. Naruto used the Kage Bushin no Jutsu, then used his seduction technique to give the idiot a huge eruption of blood. Konohamaru was in awe; he could not believe what he saw. He knew that he would have a long road, but he would work hard to become what he wanted. After, Erisu's defeat, Konohamaru declared himself, Naruto's eternal rival, and each went their separate ways. However, as they were separated, Naruto yelled back, "Remember, your grandfather has tons of techniques that he could teach you. Use him to expand your knowledge, and be better prepared for me." After he said that he have a thumbs up and smiled, to which Konohamaru smiled as well.

* * *

The next day

* * *

Naruto awake early in the morning, got himself ready for the day, as he left, he checked the calendar. He, then, realized what day it was today. Today was the day of ninja orientation. Naruto decided to cut his training short; thereby allowing him enough time gets ready for the orientation. He chuckled to himself, why would he need orientation when he has already been on his fair share of missions, even when he was going to class. Sure Iruka-sensei would tell the class that Naruto was sick, but what was really happening was that Naruto would be sent on missions. This was fine by Naruto since he would meet up with some of his friends from the other countries. 

As he was going toward orientation, he felt Konohamaru's chakra signature. He began to smile and then leapt onto the fence above Konohamaru.

Konohamaru wanted to catch Naruto by surpise, however, every time he thought that he had Naruto, he was soon shown the fallacy of his thought, as Naruto would surprise him by catching him by surprise. He had hoped that today would be different.

"Hello, Konohamaru," a familiar voice said above Konohamaru.

He sighed, "Hello Naruto," he said as he looked up to the grinning face of Naruto. "Would you like to play ninja with me?"

"I'm sorry, but today is ninja orientation day so I will have to take a raincheck, okay?" Naruto asked.

Konohamaru took some time to think, then he nodded his head, "Only if you teach me a new technique."

Naruto nodded, and left.

As Naruto entered into the classroom, he prepared himself, once again donning the disguise of the clown. Once he entered, he was asked by Shikamaru, why he was here. Naruto promptly said that he was supposed to be here, pointing to his leaf headband. As the others entered, Naruto would sit in the back and mentally review some of his father's techniques that he was currently studying. The only brief time was when some boy ended up getting beaten by a group of girls because he accidentally kissed the spoiled brat did it become interesting. As soon as Iruka-sensei came in, he awaited the news about how would be on his new team.

"Team 7, includes… Uzumaki Naruto, Haruna Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke." Iruka said.

Naruto could not believe that he was stuck with such useless people. He knew that Sasuke was the only one left of the Uchiha massacre, because of this everyone took extra care with him. 'He only thinks about himself,' Naruto thought. He then took a look at Sakura; he knew that Sakura was infatuated with Sasuke, and that she did not like him. 'Primarily because of her parents,' he thought. After everyone was assigned a group, Naruto raised his hand. "Iruka-sensei, is there any way to change into another group?" Naruto asked.

Iruka looked to Naruto, and threw Naruto a letter. "Hokage-sama knew that you say that so he asked me to give you this," Iruka replied.

Naruto caught the letter and opened it:

* * *

Naruto, 

I know that you don't want to be in this group, but you need to be with others your own age. Also this will give you a better understanding on how to work in a group, which will help you in your goal to be a Hokage. This will be an A class assignment, which will be hidden in your other file. I wish you well.

Sincerely,

"Old Man" Sandaime

* * *

Naruto shook his head as he lit the letter, and watched it burn. 'I guess there is no way around it now. I suppose I will have to teach Konohamaru the Harem no Jutsu, just to get back at him,' Naruto thought with a smile. 

Sandaime shivered, 'Something awful is going to happen to me, I better be ready.'

After the teams were grouped, Iruka gave the genin the rest of the day off and announced that they would have to meet their teachers tomorrow. Naruto decided to train for the rest of the day, as he left he wondered who would be their new teacher and if the teacher would be any good?

Naruto thought, 'I just hope that the Old Man remembered not to let anyone know where I have been during the time that I was missing.'

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Naruto had met the Old Man, after the defeat of Ebisu. He knew that want he had to tell the Old Man would be hard, but he must follow the code. 

"I am sorry to interrupt," Naruto said as he looked around to make sure that there was no one around.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" Sandaime asked.

Naruto turned to look at Sandaime. "I need to talk to you about my new sensei."

"Hmm?" Sandaime looked at Naruto with curiosity and wondered what Naruto was going to ask him.

"My new sensei, I would like for you not to tell him about my past." Naruto said. He then saw Sandaime's questioning look, and continued, "I don't want any one to know where I have been, or who I have trained with. The reason is that if other's found out, and attempted to copy or use the Hokuto Shin Ken. Then we may lose either me or the others…" Naruto saw that Sandaime wanted more, and continued, "There is a tenet that states that there can only be one heir. Others will have the memory removed, lose their hands, or the master would… kill them."

Sandaime nodded his head, he did not know this, but it did make sense. Arashi, himself, stated, "There is only one heir. Anyone else who learned is not relevant." Sandaime had thought that it meant that only one heir was trained, but now he knew that if any one tried to copy the Hokuto Shin Ken, then it was a death sentence. A death sentence that would be carried out with extreme prejudice by Ken or Naruto.

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Close to Sandaime, a ninja sneezed and wondered who was thinking about him.

* * *

The next day

* * *

Naruto met with the rest of his team, they ended up staying well after every other team had been picked up by their sensei. Naruto began to wonder just who their sensei was. 'I just hope it isn't another obnoxious Jounin, my ears still hurt from before.' Naruto thought as he remembered.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Naruto had just finished bringing the last of the steel girders to his private training ground. He was resting against it when he heard the sound of some one punching a wooden training dummy. 

Curious, he followed the noise to a clearing, where he saw three people training. One was throwing an assort of bladed weapons to targets around her, the other was practicing by himself a kata, and the third was the source of the sound that he had heard. However, his other senses where telling him that there was another and that he was about to grab him… to bad for the other person.

Neji, Lee and Tenten were practicing with Gai, when Neji had told them that someone was coming. Gai, instantly, set everyone up for a trap. At least that was the plan; while the others were waiting for Gai to flush the person out they pretended to be training. Suddenly, Gai appeared, flying toward the group. The others were stunned, however, remembering their training, Neji invoked the Byuuken and tried to find where the individual was. Tenten was ready to attack with her kunais, and Lee was ready for the confrontation. Neji suddenly pointed toward the woods. Tenten instantly threw a kunai to where Neji pointed. As few seconds passed before any of them could see the results. Out came a child with a Leaf headband, the kunai was pierced through his shoulder. The group gasped as they saw the child, they rushed over to see if they could some how help. All the while, Tenten kept repeating, "I'm sorry." It wasn't until the three had gathered that they noticed the smirk. Suddenly, in place of the child there was a log with balloons wrapped around it and… EXPLOSIVE NOTES!

Before any of them could react, the explosive notes lit and exploded, showering the three with something foul-smelling.

"WHAT IS THIS?" they yelled.

"Spoiled shaving cream," the reply came from behind them.

They turned to see a blonde-haired child with the Leaf headband on his head.

"Why did you do that?" Tenten exclaimed as they tried to get rid of the shaving cream from their bodies.

"I don't like it when people attack me, you're lucky that I noticed the Leaf headband or else I would have used a more 'permanent' solution." Naruto replied, sending shivers up the back of the three. "I just wanted to find out what the noise was. Now, we can fight but I think that it is better to just let things lie don't you."

The three had finally removed the last of the shaving cream, by then Gai had awoken from his forced 'nap'. Once awake Gai found out about Naruto, and for the next twenty minutes, Naruto when under the most excruciating pain known to man. Now, Naruto had been through some of the most painful experience with Ken in training, however, even if you combine them all together you could not compare with Gai's "Burning Youth" speech.

* * *

End of Flashback

* * *

Naruto shook his head trying to forget about that day; there were many things that he had to deal with, but having to hear that horrible speech. Naruto shook as a chill went up his back; there were times where he thought he had seen the worst in man, but that speech… BRRRRRRRRR… 

It wasn't until noon did their new sensei appeared, and as Naruto thought it was the only white haired pervert, Kakashi. He sighed, as he knew that there was no way around his predicament. He then followed the others to the roof, where he sat back and listen to Kakashi's introduction, only getting his name. Kakashi then asked Sakura to introduce herself, which was as Naruto expected, except Sakura only hated Ino. Next came Sasuke, no surprise on his introduction. However, when Kakashi turned to him, Naruto was prepared for Kakashi.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are training, Ramen, and pranks. My dislikes are perverts, people who judge first and don't get to know others, and I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I put in the hot water. My hobbies are pranking, burning my old sensei's book, 'Flirting Paradise', and training. My dream has changed, at one time it was to become greater than the Hokage, but now," Naruto paused. "Now it is to become my father's Heir."

Kakashi knew that Naruto had left but he never knew where he went, and as far as he knew Naruto had no father. 'So who was his 'father' and if he would burn my precious books,' Kakashi thought.

Kakashi then told them about the test, the failure rate, and to meet him early in the morning. After Kakashi left, Naruto looked at the others and then got up and left. But before he left, he said, "I think that it is better if we ate, after all if he is this late today, he may do the same tomorrow."

* * *

The Next Morning

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura arrived early in the morning; however, Naruto and Kakashi had not shown up.

* * *

11:00 am

* * *

Naruto had finally arrived, but instead of joining his new team, he sat in the tree close to the training ground. He then used one of his new creations, a semi-perfect clone, only 1/100th of his power. 'I better hide my presence,' he thought. 'Let's see if this new sensei can do.' 

He sent his clone to the group, and gave the excuse that he set his alarm but the battery died during the night. A good excuse, actually, one that would not have his team angry at him.

It wasn't until five minutes later that Naruto saw Kakashi enter the training ground. He realized that Kakashi had not noticed him yet, and was heading toward the team. He heard Kakashi's test and found something amusing. 'If only a third pass the test then how come there are two bells, if two people pass the test then it would be two thirds that pass… ahh, it is a test,' Naruto thought. He heard Kakashi's attack on his abilities and sent his clone to attack. He was mildly surprise that Kakashi was able to catch his clone. 'But then again he is a Jounin,' Naruto thought.

Once the fight began, Naruto let his clone stay to see how good Kakashi's taijutsu was. He shook his head as he saw Kakashi's Thousand Years of Pain. 'I can't believe Kakashi was his teacher,' Naruto repeatedly thought until he saw Kakashi and Sasuke using ninjutsu technique. 'Hmm, interesting, I will have to practice those techniques.' It was noon when Kakashi revealed what Naruto already knew, that it was teamwork that allowed the team to pass. After that, Kakashi left Sasuke and Sakura's view, Naruto then tried to get the others to feed him knowing that it would get Kakashi's attention. Once they fed Naruto and defended their decision, Kakashi passed them. Once Naruto say they left, he cancelled the clone. 'Hmmm… This will be an interesting experience,' Naruto thought.

For the next few months, Team Seven had to deal with many low-level missions. No fighting, no searching for bandits, just finding cats, and other low-level missions. Naruto was tired of these missions, but every once and a while, he would get short secret missions that would break the monotony of the D-class missions, during these times Team Seven would be given time to train. However, that would change…

* * *

Author's notes: I know this is a short chapter but I wanted to start fresh for the Mission to Wave Country. I am going to change some things, but I want to leave that a secret. 

Author's rant: I am doing this because I need to have some thoughts about it. I have been working on other ideas, while I was working on this story. I would like your opinion if you could. I am thinking about some new stories:

* * *

Ranma/Andromeda – Ranma awakens after centuries in hybernation, meeting Dylan Hunt. What will the aquatransexual chaos magnet do when he joins up and fight with Dylan. 

Extract: "My genes help create the WHAT!" "It's true, as much as I hate to say it…" "Well at least you don't have Akane's genes… I really don't want to have an entire race creating mallets and calling me pervert every time I meet them."

* * *

Ranma/One Piece: Add one broken Wishing Mirror and a person who does not like his lot in life. See what happens when Ranma is sent to another world. Where he is adopted by a man who later has two sons. Ranma watches over them. Check out Ranma in the land of One Piece… 

Extract: Looking at Eric, "Excuse me?" Eric turns, "What?" "Are you sure you want to do this?" Ranma asks. When he got the nod from Eric, he shook his head and raised his hands. "Okay… HA!" he yelled as he unleashed a ki-blast, knocking Eric from his perch. Luffy's group watched as Eric flew away from the ship. Luffy, however, was laughing and smacking Ranma's back. "I can believe he fell for that!"

* * *

Naruto/Buffy: Xander doesn't make it from the collapsing Hellmouth, he ends up in Naruto's world. What happens when the White Knight meets the Demon Child? 

Extract: "Demon, Demon… Die! Urghhhh…" "I know you were not about to hurt my brother… WERE YOU!" Xander asks as he slowly squeezed. Seeing what he hoped was a nod, he slammed the villager against the wall. "You better PRAY… for Mercy, because I have yet to see it." Xander said as he then began to pummel the villager. After a few hours he come back to the child, "Well that was refreshing, huh Naru-chan?" Naruto nodded, after all he had seen his older brother do the same thing time and time again, he wondered though, why couldn't people remember not to anger his brother?

* * *

North Star/Buffy: It's Halloween, and Xander missed the last gun. But wait, what is this a costume from England, and it was in a movie? Hmmm, see what happens when Xander becomes the Fist. 

Extract: Adam looks at the man in front of him, "You can't defeat me, I am the New God." Krack, Krack. "Let's see about that… WhatatatatatatatatatatatataTA!"

* * *

Beet the Vandal Buster/Buffy: It's Halloween, and Xander being the closet Anime view recognizes a sword that Ethan placed in the clearance bin. See what happens when Xander becomes Beet and gains all the knowledge and power. Oh lucky day for Sunnydale… hehehe, NOT!. 

Extract: "Guns, can't kill us kid." "Well let's see about that huh, Cyclone Shot!" Where once stood a vampire, now was a vampire with a large hole in it's chest. "Hooowww…" was the last thing it said as it crumbled to dust. "Well what do you know it does work on vamps, hehehehe."

* * *

All these will however not be done until I have finished the Fist Series or if I run out of juice for it, which had not happened, yet. 

I am also looking for some more pre-readers if your interested email me at


	7. Chapter 6 Rewrite

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 6

The Country of Wave

* * *

It had been three months since the creation of Team Seven, and Naruto began to notice the underline tension of the group. Between the training and D-class missions, both Sakura and Sasuke were feeling restless and wanted to do more. Naruto knew that it would only be a matter of time before one of them breaks… He had a bet going with Sandaime that it would happen before the end of the month.

It was during the mission to recapture Tiger-chan; again, that Sakura finally broke down. She had enough, she demanded better missions, and was tired of all of the D-class missions.

The Hokage shook his head and sighed, 'I guess I will have to take Naruto out on for an all-you-can-eat Ramen dinner. I just hope I have enough, he nearly broke me the last time.' He then looked at Naruto and notice that Naruto nodded, 'So he thinks their ready for a higher class mission, very well.' The Hokage looked though his list and chose a C-class mission. 'This should do, after all, it's only a protection job. Plus, I can stall Naruto long enough for me to get more money for the meal.' The Hokage looked back to Team Seven and assigned them the C-class mission to escort an individual to the Country of the Wave.

Naruto felt a shiver run up his spine, as he heard the mission. 'There is more here than meets the eye.' For the past four years, Naruto began to receive "feelings". These "feelings" were usually warnings about things to come. They would vary in degrees. His father told him once that these "feelings" were a warrior's intuition or sixth sense, they would alert a warrior to any dangers that the warrior may face, and today, that feeling came with friends.

Just then a door opened and a drunken man staggered in. The first thing the old man did was complaining about the "Loud-Mouth Pink-Haired Girl." Luckily Kakashi grabbed the collar of Sakura's dress before she could attack the drunk.

After that little discursion, Team Seven looked at the old man, as he introduced himself, "I am the bridge building expert Tazuna. Once I have returned to my country, I will have all of you protect my life with yours while I complete the bridge."

* * *

Early the Next Day

* * *

Naruto awoke and grabbed his supplies that he packed earlier that night. He still could not shake the feeling ever since he received the new assignment. 'I better be careful. I don't know why I feel this way but I better protect myself just in case.' Naruto created a true clone. 'I will follow behind the group and be ready to back them up.'

* * *

Later at

The Konoha's Main Gate

* * *

Naruto's clone met with the rest of the group and headed out. Once they had started out, Naruto noticed two individuals following the group. 'Hmmm, I guess my gut was right. Damnit, I was hoping that it would be an easy assignment.'

The group continued on its journey, Naruto followed and watched as the group was attacked by two ninjas. Commanding his clone to fake being afraid, he watched Kakashi's 'death'. Shaking his head, he saw that the two ninjas then attempt to attack the clone, but was stopped by Sasuke. The ninjas then attacked Tazuna, when Kakashi reacted taking down the two brothers.

'It can't be… Why would they be here? I better wait and find out,' Naruto thought as Kakashi finished tying the two ninjas up.

Using his clone, Naruto convinced the others to continue on the mission. After the group had left, Naruto went to the tree and then he untied the two ninjas. Seeing the ninjas unconscious, he shook his head and hit them both on the head HARD.

"ITAI!"

Naruto chuckled as he watched the two grown brothers rubbed their heads, "Takato, Kakato, what are you doing here?"

The two demon brothers were stunned, only a select few knew their name, and those few could be counted on one hand. So how did this child know their name… unless? "Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head; "It took you long enough, so why did you attack my clone?" Seeing the disbelief in their eyes, he continued, "You didn't recognize me, did you?" A nod from the brothers confirmed what Naruto was thinking. "Geez, I thought Zabuza-chan would have taught you better." Naruto then hit the brothers on the head again. "ALWAYS BE OBSERVENT!" Naruto yelled. "Come on, before any one else comes along." Naruto then turned and headed south away from the path, all the while the brothers followed.

After a mile, Naruto turned to the brothers, "Alright spill, what is really going on." It was then that the brothers told Naruto what was really going on. How Mizukage assigned Zabuza to find out about rumors that Mizukage had heard about S-class criminals being hired by an unknown person. Zabuza had followed some of the rumors to Gatoh, who ran a criminal organization. Naruto absorbed all of the information; he then took out a scroll from his backpack and handed it to the brothers. "Take this to the Hokage, it is a temporary pass that will allow you to walk within Konoha. Wear a disguise so that no one will notice you and alert Gatoh to your presence. Also, alert Zabuza let him know that I am coming, and to pretend not to recognize me, that goes for Haku too. Got it?" The brothers shook their heads in affirmation. "Good, I have to be on my way. I need to catch up with the group. Ja ne." Naruto said as he turned and ran off to catch up with the team.

As the brothers left, neither saw Naruto spilt into two people, one heading to Group Seven, and the other heading toward the Hidden Village of the Mist.

* * *

Later that night

* * *

Naruto finally caught up with the group who were mostly asleep except his clone, which was guarding them on night watch. After recalling his clone, Naruto decided to join with the group. He knew whom he would face; he just hoped that Zabuza would remember the letter that the brothers sent to him before he attacked the group. As he shook Sasuke to take over the watch, he thought, 'My father was right, sometimes hiding out in the open is harder than being out in the open.'

The next few days were slow going, Naruto had to remember not to train while with the group. Although he didn't like the prospect of not training, he did enjoy the 'sleeping in until late morning' part.

Kyuubi also like that, since he was a fox. However, he would be damned if he let Naruto find that out. "**DAMN IT KID, WHY CAN'T WE GO AND TRAIN!**"

'To do so would risk my cover. However, once we go to the Country of the Wave, we will restart my training, I will even increase the regiment to make up for the days I missed training.'

"**GRRR, FINE BUT YOU WILL DO THREE TIME AS MUCH TRAINING, JUST TO RECOVER THE TIME YOU MISS, I WANT YOU READY SO THAT I CAN SHOW YOU SOME NEW TECHNIQUES USING MY YOUKI, HEHEHEHEHE.**" Replied Kyuubi.

Naruto signed, Kyuubi was always a hard taskmaster, but the improvements that he got from the training far outweighed the hassle that it made. Naruto looked out to the east, 'Just one more day before we reach Tazuna's homeland. I hope what I have heard about Gatoh was a lie. Or else I will have to step in.'

It took another day before they reached the shores of the Country of the Wave. During that time, Naruto decided to take the time to continue reading on his hobby. For many years, Kenshiro had encouraged Naruto to expand his knowledge. It was that encouragement that led Naruto to find out that he had a talent with metalworking, both in the forge: creating tools and weapons; and in mechanics. Which from what he heard about his ancestor, he wasn't too surprised. He always felt great working with his hands helping people. Whether it was building a motor to help pump water into a drought filled town, or creating a toy that would light up a child's face. It was those memories that would comfort him. Because even though they knew what he carried, they respected him as an individual. It was that thought that made Naruto smile and continue his reading.

Kakashi was confused, for several days; Naruto had been acting strange, different. He would not shout or make announcements that he would normally do. Also, what took Kakashi by surprise was the book that Naruto had recently pulled from his backpack. _Advance Mechanics and the Fundamentals of Thermo Dynamics_. Kakashi was concerned, this Naruto was strange and different, and the book… Kakashi could not remember ever hearing about such a title, so where did Naruto get his hands on it? He then shook his head, those mysteries can wait, right now the mission took president, and this mystery will have to wait until then.

Naruto sensed two individuals watching them, 'It took them long enough, and here I thought that it would be a dull day. Better get the others ready.' Naruto pulled out his kunai and threw it without saying a word.

The others were stunned; Naruto without looking up from his book threw a kunai into the woods. Sakura was noticeable shaken, Sasuke had a questioning look and Tazuna was just scared that some one was in the woods. Meanwhile, Kakashi shook himself, had he not been so wrapped up with Naruto he might have notice if something was out there.

As the group approached the kunai, they saw a white haired snow rabbit. The group's reaction varied: Sakura was anger that Naruto almost killed the rabbit, Sasuke shook his head in disbelief, and Kakashi was wondering how the rabbit got there. Sakura decided that the best way to deal with Naruto was to yell at him. It was at this time that Kakashi yelled for everyone to get down, which most did reply, except one.

Naruto saw the blade come at the group. As everyone else leaped out of its way, Naruto caught the sword one-handed, and used its momentum to send it flying to a tree where he felt one of the individuals was hiding.

Zabuza could not believe what had happened; never had anyone caught his blade and sent it back to him. Granted it was not a technique, just some thing that he used to catch people unaware but this to catch it and send it toward him. Zabuza was impressed. 'He has grown since I last met him. I wonder if I will get a chance to find out how powerful.' Zabuza shook his head, 'Work first then play.'

The group saw Zabuza leap onto the handle of the sword. Kakashi instantly identified Zabuza and was worried. He knew Zabuza's history and knew that if Zabuza was working for Gatoh then fighting him would take all Kakashi's resources.

After a brief introduction, and explanation for Sakura about Sharingan, Zabuza leapt into the pool of water. Using the Mist Concealment to hide his presence, he formulated a game plan. Naruto, Susake, and Sakura surrounded Tazuna. Naruto tracked Zabuza and Kakashi, knowing that he would have to conceal his true potential. Just then, he noticed that some of the mist was condensing between Tazuna and the group. Just as the water was almost done creating a bushin, Zabuza began talking.

'Probably to make us focus on his voice instead of the surroundings. A good technique to leave people unaware, too bad it doesn't work on me.' Naruto thought as Kakashi cleared the mist. 'Interesting, I would never have guessed that there were people that could still give out that much killer instinct.' Kakashi, or rather a Mizu Bushin then convinced Sasuke that it would be all right. 'Hmmm, Kakashi did the same thing, probably to lure Zabuza out in the open. Oh well better protect the old geezer.'

As soon as the Mizu Bushin formed, Naruto went into action, grabbing Tazuna's backpack and pulled Tazuna away from the Bushin and put himself between the Bushin and Tazuna. Naruto got into a defensive position and waited for Kakashi to make his move.

It came as a surprise to all that Naruto acted first, protecting Tazuna. However the others reacted then, Kakashi's clone acted by destroying Zabuza's clone, only to be destroyed by another clone. It was then that Kakashi acted by attacking the clone. At this time, Naruto began to subtly send out caltrops between the water and the group. After he was done he saw Kakashi get kicked to the water by Zabuza. It was the caltrops that stopped Zabuza from killing Kakashi; it also reminded him that he had a mission first. Zabuza then imprisoned Kakashi, and created a clone to attack the group. Naruto knew that Zabuza would attack him first, to see how far he had been trained, so he created a full clone and hid underground to see what Zabuza would do. Sure enough Zabuza created a clone to attack the group. Cloaking itself in mist and attacked Naruto's clone with a kick that removed the Naruto's clone's forehead protector, allowing Zabuza's clone to stomp on the protector. Sasuke then attacked the clone only to be taken down as well.

Naruto knew that he had to act but he did not want to give away too much about himself. So he sent his clone to attack Zabuza's clone, only to have the clone kicked back at the group.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed not believing that 'Naruto' would do attack the clone like that. She then lectured 'Naruto' until she saw that 'Naruto' had his forehead protector in his hand.

The clone stood up and spoke, "Yo, the no-brow there… Put this in your bingo book… The man who will become the Ultimate Ninja above even the Five Kages one day… The Heir to the One True Style… Uzumaki Naruto!" It was the speech that causes everyone to stare at the clone, each with their own thoughts.

"Let's go wild NOW!" the clone said as he was disappeared in a cloud of smoke. This event caused everyone to stare in shock.

'BUSHIN!' ran through every ninja's mind.

Just then behind Zabuza's clone, the ground erupted with Naruto using a kunai to slash the back of the clone, destroying it.

'How?' ran through the minds of Zabuza and Kakashi as neither of them felt Naruto before his action and was wondering how he could have done it without them knowing.

Naruto then turned to Zabuza. He unleashed a quarter of his killer intent, which caused everyone to shake in fear.

'How can he have such a strong killing intent?' thought Zabuza and Kakashi. While Sakura and Sasuke felt utter despair, as if the first killing intent between Zabuza and Kakashi was a whisper compared to what they faced now. Zabuza trying to shake the intent, talked about how he was different from the group, because of how he had already killed when he was their age. Kakashi then explained to the group about how Zabuza had become a ninja.

Naruto shook his head, he had already known this from his previous encounter, but he knew that the others did not. 'Ah well, better finish this,' Naruto decided to make it simple, since he did not want to kill Zabuza and knew that Haku would act if Zabuza was going to lose.

Naruto then pulled out a large shuriken; he then threw it at Zabuza. Zabuza saw the shuriken and reacted by jumping above the shuriken. Just as the shuriken had passed it transformed into a clone of Naruto, who grabbed Zabuza's leg and used it to strike Zabuza in the face, causing Zabuza to lose his grip on Kakashi. Once this was done the clone disappeared. Kakashi reacted instantly by using his Sharingan to attack Zabuza. Just as Kakashi was going to kill Zabuza, Haku acted.

Naruto saw the battle and knew that the end had occurred when Haku acted. Naruto noticed that Kakashi was low on chakra, and went to Kakashi as he was about to faint. After Kakashi fainted, Naruto picked him up and walked to Tazuna. "We better head to your home, Kakashi is exhausted and will need to rest," Naruto said as he waited for Tazuna to lead the way.

* * *

A week later

* * *

Kakashi woke up, from what he guessed it was in Tazuna's home. He thought back about the fight or more precisely, Naruto. Never in his years had he felt anything like what he felt that day, it was scary and shocking that a child could produce such a powerful killer intent. He knew very little about his student, Sandaime would not go into specifics, but he knew that Naruto was missing for seven years. He, also, knew that no one was able to locate Naruto until he showed up during the last two years of ninja school. 'What secrets is he hiding, and how did he get to have such a strong killer intent,' Kakashi thought

It was at that time when the group entered into Kakashi's room. Everyone was happy that he had awoken and was glad that he was okay. Everyone, that is, save Naruto, who stood in the back and nodded to Kakashi, when Kakashi looked toward his direction.

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Haku had been traveling for a while, heading toward the ninja's base of operation. He felt Zabuza twitch, which only meant one thing. Placing Zabuza down on the ground. He was about to cut the bandage that was wrapped around Zabuza's mouth, when Zabuza grabbed his arm instead.

"It seems that you are awake, Zabuza-san," Haku said, as Zabuza began to remove the needles, "Please don't take those out so roughly. You can really die if you do."

Zabuza snorted, "You're a mean bitch of a person sometimes, you know that." Seeing Haku smile, Zabuza then stared out, "I wondered how you were able to get me out of there. Naruto would have surely stopped you. He knows that hunter-nins kill the dead then and there."

Haku shrugged, "Naruto knew, but did not act. I saw from his eyes that he knew I was there all along. He let me take you away."

Zabuza nodded, "So, now what do we do, you know that we can't defeat him if he has gotten stronger. Hmmm…" Zabuza felt something attached to his pants. He pulled it out and looked at Haku, who shook her head. He then opened the note, and after reading it chuckled.

Haku was confused to why Zabuza would laugh after receiving a note. Zabuza then gave the note to Haku, who began to read:

* * *

Hey No-Brow and Girly-Girl,

Long time no see, I hope everything is going well; I did not interrupt your grand exit because I did not want to show too much about myself. I know why you're here and I want you to know that I will have my ears open for you. HOWEVER, if you go after Tazuna, I will stop you and both of you know I can do that. BUUUTTTTT, I think I will leave that for another time, after all, I know Girly-Girl wanted to get a hold of you for a while, so check yourself. You never know what she could have done while you were unconscious. Well I better be going, I have a job to do. Ken-sama sends his regards, and No-Brow… Take care of Haku, you know how she feels about you, and I would be disappointed if I had to do something bad like burn your plush toy collection to teach you a lesson.

Grinning Madly,

Uzumaki Naruto

P.S. If we do meet again, keep everything in the down low. Don't break my cover, and I won't break yours.

* * *

Haku chuckled, 'Naruto always was good at finding things out, it shouldn't surprise me that he found out about the collection.' Haku then turned to Zabuza, "I think we better head back." To which Zabuza nodded.

* * *

Back at Tazuna's home

* * *

After finding out that Zabuza may be alive, the group was stunned, knowing how hard the fight was before, most of the group turned to Naruto, hoping to get an answer about how he was able to do what he did. But before they could get an answer, a young child entered the room.

It was then that the group was introduced to Inari, to which, they had the 'benefit' of hearing. "Mom, they're going to die. There's no way a person can win by going against Gatoh."

Naruto scoffed. "Don't you mean there is no one that lives in this village that is strong enough to win against Gatoh, coward?"

Inari was instantly upset, and ran off. Everyone looked at Naruto, who shrugged and took a breath, "Fine I will apologize to the little brat. Sensei, I think we need to train some more if what you say is true." Naruto then left. Kakashi then told everyone that Group Seven would need to train.

Naruto had gotten up to the second floor and heard Inari's cries. Shaking his head, he turned and left. 'This village needs a hero, now more then ever.'

* * *

Early the next day

* * *

Naruto got up earlier then everyone else in the house. He, unfortunately, did not do so willing.

"**GET UP YOU LITTLE PINK SKIN WASTE OF SPACE! IT"S TIME TO START TRAINING, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP!"** the Kyuubi exclaimed.

'Grrrr… Stupid old fox, alright I'm up… I better leave a clone so that they don't notice anything.'

**"JUST HURRY UP I WANT YOU RUNNING ON THE WATER AND INCREASING THE WEIGHTS, I WANT IT INCREASED TO THREE TIMES YOUR NORMAL WEIGHT TRAINING. THEN, GO TO AN ISOLATED ISLAND, AND PRACTICE TAIJUTSU, NINJUTSU, AND GENJUTSU UNTIL I TELL YOU WHEN TO STOP!" **Kyuubi demanded.

Naruto shook his head and created his clone. Once that was accomplished, he left to start training, making sure no one knew that he was gone.

* * *

Later that day

* * *

Kakashi had brought Sakura and Sasuke to an isolated area of the island. He had sent Naruto to guard Tazuna, so that he could get the others alone with him. He had told Naruto to come and meet them in the afternoon to begin training. He turned to the group and decided to find out what had been happening since he was out.

"So tell me what has gone on since I was out?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura and Sasuke had told him that once they got back to Tazuna's house, they decided to take turns protecting him, however, Naruto had urged the two to continue training while he would watch Tazuna. At first, the others disagreed, to which Naruto said that he would need them to become stronger if there were others out there waiting to attack Tazuna. When they asked how they would know if there was an attack if they were training, Naruto smiled and said they would hear it if it happened.

Kakashi nodded his head as he heard what was going on since he was unconscious. He still had questions about how powerful Naruto was, but he agreed with Naruto that the group needed to train to become stronger. After Naruto arrived, he taught them to climb trees to increase their chakra control.

* * *

Meanwhile on an isolated island

* * *

Naruto was taking a break for the past seven hours he had been training. First the run to work on his chakra control, then the training. For the past several days he had seen the problems that were going on with the town. He had sent word to his father to let him know that help was needed in the village, but he had not received word back. He began to wonder if the word got to his father, when a rock hit him on the head.

"ITAI!" Naruto screamed as he looked around for the source. He then saw one of his clones smiling back at him. "Che, what is it?"

The clone then gave Naruto word that his father was coming with supplies for the village. Only it would take a few weeks before he got here because he was going around to the other villages to gather the supplies. Naruto nodded and thanked the clone before canceling it. He now knew that his father would help the village, as he always did. However, he hoped that the current problem would be solved before he arrived. After taking a few more seconds to collect his thoughts, he got up and began to train again. 'Now how did that technique go… Oh yeah, Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu. Let's see if I can do that by creating the water first then the technique. After all Hydrogen and Oxygen are in the air, all I have to do is mix and…'

* * *

Later that evening

* * *

Naruto had returned to Tazuna's house, before the others. He scanned the area and found the group coming back together. Naruto then called his clone to find out what had happened during the day. After finding out about the day, Naruto dispersed the clone and waited for the others to show up. 'I better continue what I am doing, the clone will have a hard time with the tree climbing but the good thing is that I can funnel chakra into it no matter how long, just to make sure that the others believe that it is me.'

For the next several days, Naruto had continued his training, practicing the skills that he learned from what he had seen and from the scrolls that Sandaime had given him.

* * *

Late one evening

* * *

Sakura had told the others of the state of affairs that was going on with the village. Sasuke and Kakashi both agreed that something needed to be done but neither could answer as to what.

After the eating competition between Naruto and Sasuke, that Naruto enjoyed, even though Sasuke did heave most of it up. Sakura asked about the picture that was on the wall. Tazuna, then replied who the person was, which led to Inari leaving as well as the mother. Naruto examined the picture and listen to the tale that Tazuna had told.

"The man could you describe him to me?" Naruto asked after finding out what had happened to him.

Tazuna replied, "What do you mean?"

"Describe him, was there anything about him a mark or something that he wore?" Naruto asked while looking intensely at the photo.

"Naruto don't be so nosy, you don't need to know that," Sakura said embraced that Naruto would nose in further.

Tazuna looked up in thought, "He had a mark on his chin it was…"

"An X's shaped mark, and did not talk about his background much, did he?" Naruto continued as he looked up from the photo.

Tazuna looked stunned and nodded. Naruto looked out the window. "Where is he buried?"

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed stunned that Naruto would ask such a thing.

"I want to meet a real hero, even if he is dead, it is best to pay respect to a hero tomorrow, ne?" Naruto asked still looking at Tazuna.

Tazuna told Naruto where Kaiza was laid. To which, Naruto nodded and began to leave.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"If you're trying to train, don't. You molded too much Chakra." Kakashi said trying to convince Naruto not to do what he knew Naruto was planning on doing.

"I'm going to prove…" Naruto started.

"Prove what?" Sakura asked.

"That there are still heroes in this world." Naruto said as he went to the door. "I'm going to prove it to him!" he continued as he left.

* * *

Outside

* * *

Naruto created a clone quickly; he knew that he had to cover his tracks just in case the others followed. He sent the clone to 'practice climbing a tree', while he went to the grave. Once there he made sure that no one was around when he dug up the box. Naruto then opened the box and looked inside. Sure enough, Naruto say the remains of Kaiza, as well as some belongings that where buried with him. Naruto then check the belongings. 'Please don't let it be who I think it is,' Naruto thought as he picked up a locket. After a few moments of looking at the locket, he took a deep breath and opened it verifying the contents within. 'Damn, he's not going to like this,' Naruto thought as he looked at the corpse. "I am sorry, I am late Kaiza-san, if I knew you were in trouble, I would have come with one other and helped you out."

Naruto covered the grave with dirt and took the box, with all the contents within. 'I better practice, it has been late enough that they would have surely left me alone by now,' Naruto thought as went to the training ground. 'I better hide this and not say anything for a while. At least, until I can get the two responsible for Kaiza-san's death.'

* * *

The next morning

* * *

Naruto awoke the next morning, his senses telling him that there was someone near by. It took a second to identify who it was. 'Sheesh, if this was meant to be stealthy, she missed her calling. I mean seriously, hide the smell of lilacs and grass meadows would you.' Naruto decided to wait, keeping his breath steady as to not alert her, he waited. Sure enough, she came closer.

Haku could not believe it, 'It is him, but why is he here and what will this mean to Zabuza-san? I better wake hi…'

The train of thought ended as Naruto grabbed Haku's arm before Haku had a chance to wake Naruto.

"Good Morning, Girly-girl," Naruto said with a smile on his face. "How's Zabuza-san?"

Haku shook her head; 'I never could get close to him without him being aware of it.' "Good Morning, Shorty," Haku replied, as Naruto grumbled about women and his height being genetic.

For the next hour, Naruto got a detailed report on what Zabuza was up to as the two searched for healing herbs. Naruto knew that he should tell about what he found out about Kaiza, but he, also, knew that if he did plans would be disrupted. So he kept his mouth shut as he continued to help Haku.

Naruto then felt Sasuke coming toward them, after alerting Haku, he decided to help Sasuke train by competing with him. After all, what genius would like to fail against a dobe.

* * *

Later that night

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke both came to Tazuna's house just in time for dinner. It was there that Kakashi told them that they would be guarding Tazuna during the day, both nodded and settled down to eat. After the meal, Tazuna asked why they continued to follow him after he lied to them, to which Kakashi said, "Not doing right when you know it is right is a coward's way. There are no weak soldiers under a valiant commander." Both Tazuna and his daughter looked on questioning? "These were the teachings of the previous Hokage."

'My father said those things…' Naruto thought as he felt pride for his father. 'Father know that I will let everyone know your wish for me, I swear by that it will be done.'

It was then Inari began to cry, Naruto knew that he was reliving what he saw. 'Kaiza would not like that,' Naruto thought.

"Why…" Inari asked, to which Naruto asked, "What?"

"Why are you trying so hard that you end up like that? You can't beat Gatoh's men even if you train! No matter how hard you try and say those good-looking words… Weak people are going to lose against strong people!" Inari cried as he stood up.

'Chee… I better do something about this,' Naruto thought. "Shut up. I'm different from you."

"Shut UP! It pisses me off when I watch you! You don't know anything about this country, and you're so nosy!" Inari cried out. "I'm different from you, someone who doesn't know any real pain and just laughs all the time!"

Naruto took offense to this; he determined to show this punk his place. "Is that why you're pretending to be the main character of a tragedy and just cry?" Naruto asked in a low voice. "An idiot like you can just keep crying. You crybaby."

Sakura tried to stop Naruto from continuing, but Naruto stood up and walked toward the stairwell, "Keep crying, maybe someone will end your misery… Meanwhile, there are those who know true sorrow. So don't say that you know what real pain is… You can never imagine what it is like. This village, had lost a great man, and you spit on his image every time you cry." With that Naruto walked up stairs, leaving behind a stunned audience. Kakashi wondered what could have Naruto seen to make him like this.

Later on, Kakashi explained to Inari what Naruto had to deal with when he was little, about the pain he felt for not having anyone to support him… But through it all Naruto never complained or cried. H then add, that Naruto understood what Inari was dealing with, and that those words were the same that Naruto would have said to himself.

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

Naruto was exhausted, all that training and having to keep an active clone was tiring for him. The Kyuubi gave him the day off since he was suppose to protect Tazuna, but Naruto due to exhaustion slept in late, while the others left for the day.

Naruto later awoke realizing that the others had left. He quickly got dressed and left to meet the others at the bridge. As he was going to the bridge he noticed something funny about the woods.

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Inari was having problems; two swordsmen had come and taken his mother. He did nothing but stare as they left. He knew that he should do something but was too scared. As he wished for strength, he thought back to what Naruto and Kakashi had said. Inari knew that he had to do something, and then remembered Kaiza… after brushing aside his tears he gathered himself up and decided to act.

Inari acted, he ran out to face the two swordsmen and charged at them. The swordsmen decided to kill Inari and knocked out the mother so that they could enjoy it without her cries. They then attacked. After slashing, Inari, they put away their swords thinking they killed the kid. Only to see that the child was a piece of wood.

"What, Kawarimi no Jutsu?" One of the swordsmen said.

"Where's the woman?" The other asked.

"Sorry for being late," a voice said. As the swordsmen looked searched for the voice it continued. "But heroes are suppose to arrive late."

"Naruto!" Inari cried out as he opened his eyes.

Naruto turned to Inari, "Good job Inari. I was able to save your mom because you got their attention."

Inari was stunned, he was about ask a question when he say Naruto turn to the swordsmen.

"I have a question for you two…" Naruto stated in a flat voice.

"Hmmm…" both swordsmen asked.

"I heard that you two were the ones that killed Kaiza, is that true?" Naruto continued.

"Che, that blow hard…" one of the swordsmen said.

"Hn, it was a pleasure to end his life," the other replied.

Inari was anger but before he could say anything Naruto beat him to it.

"I thought as much, you know that Kaiza had family right?" Naruto asked.

"The little brat?" the capped swordsmen stated.

"No," Naruto replied, "The demon that works for your boss."

This stunned everyone as Naruto continued, "I wasn't sure until I saw the body, but I know that I was right." Naruto lifted a locket from his pocket. "This was given to Kaiza by his brother, only a few knew how to open it. If Zabuza knew, well let's say that neither you two or Gatoh would be alive today."

"Well then, I think it's best to make sure that you never say a word of it to him." The one-eyed swordsman said. With a nod, the two swordsmen ran to attack Naruto.

Naruto stood still waiting, his head bowed. Inari began to worry as the swordsmen came closer. It was when the two swordsmen seemed about ready to kill that Inari closed his eyes and yelled, "NARUTO!"

When he opened his eyes, he saw the most amazing thing. Naruto stood right where he was, holding the swordsmen's swords with two fingers in each hand. Naruto finally raised his head and spoke, "I promised my master that I would not use any of his deadlier techniques, but that doesn't mean that I will stand idly by and let you kill me." He suddenly thrusted his hands forward, breaking the swords, and hitting the swordsmen in the chest. "You have a date with a demon, I wouldn't want to disappoint him." Naruto said with a smile, as both men fell forward, stunned and unable to move.

After tying both men up, Naruto began sneezing.

"Do you have a cold?" Inari asked.

"I'm okay," Naruto replied, "Anyway, Inari, I'm sorry about yesterday."

"What?" Inari asked.

"I called you a crybaby. I take that back." Naruto replied, "You're strong. Kaiza would be proud of you."

Inari began to sniffle, "Damn it, I chose not to cry anymore… Now you're going to make fun of me and call me a crybaby again."

Naruto turned to the sea, "What are you talking about? It's okay to cry when you're happy." Naruto then turned to Inari and gave a fox-like grin. "It's okay to cry when you're happy," Naruto repeated making sure that his message got across.

"Naruto?" Inari asked.

Naruto turned to the men and said, "Now I can leave this place to you, right?"

"Yes!" Inari replied.

"I'll be heading to the bridge, then." Naruto said as he picked up the two swordsmen. "Heroes are busy, busy," Naruto said as he ran toward the bridge.

"Busy, busy!" Inari responded as he saw Naruto left.

Naruto finally came the bridge. It took longer than he expected but from where he stood he got there just in time. Sasuke was within the Demon Ice Mirror, and Kakashi had his hands full with Zabuza.

Naruto knew that he had to do something but he couldn't figure out what it was. Naruto decided to send a clone to help Sasuke while he decided what to do. He watched as Haku attacked both his clone and Sasuke, and Zabuza was fighting Kakashi. He watched as Sasuke finally was able to use Sharingan, as imperfect as it was. Naruto was surprised that the Sharingan had finally showed, according to what he had read the Sharingan showed up when the Uchiha reached the age of seventeen or eighteen. To see the Sharingan in a person this young was surprising. It was during his contemplation that he saw Sasuke go down. Naruto knew that Haku would not kill Sasuke, because if Haku did then Haku would have to face Naruto. Haku and Zabuza knew that Naruto was powerful, powerful enough to beat them of course.

Naruto decided to act as soon as he saw Sasuke go down. Canceling the clone, he appeared outside the Demon Ice Mirror and knocked on the Mirror. Haku saw the clone disappear, once it disappeared, she realized that it was a clone. Hearing the knock, she turned and saw Naruto, she then left the mirror. Seeing that Naruto had his finger on his mouth, she realized that Naruto wanted her to be quiet. Naruto then pointedly looked at the mirrors, which Haku caught and removed the mirrors. Naruto then looked at Zabuza and Kakashi's fight, he tried to find a way to stop both sides from attacking. Finally, Naruto decided the best thing to do is to unleash a little havoc.

'You ready to have some fun, Kyu-chan.' Naruto thought.

'**DAMN RIGHT, I AM!'** Kyuubi thought.

With a smile, Naruto began to unleash the Kyuubi's youki. Haku seeing what Naruto was doing backed away remembering the last time she felt it. Naruto saw that Kakashi decided to finish it. Using a summoning scroll to ensnarl Zabuza, Kakashi went to use Chidori. Haku was about to move to go between the two when Naruto stopped her. With a look, Naruto did some hand seals and whispered, "Shuushin no Jutsu."

Kakashi was about to end Zabuza's life. He knew that his technique was fatal, and just as he was about to hit Zabuza, a flash occurred. There in front of him was Naruto holding his wrist, very tightly.

Before either ninjas could react, Naruto spoke, "Sorry to interrupt, Kakashi-sensei, but I need to interrupt for a moment." Naruto turned his head to Zabuza, "I found something that you may want." Naruto then revealed a locket in his other hand, showing it to Zabuza.

Zabuza looked at the locket, and begin to shake. He slowly took the locket, and slowly opened it. Tears began to appear in his eyes, he then looked to Naruto, as the mist disappeared.

"Yes Zabuza, it is the same locket. I got it from your brother, Kaiza," Naruto said.

Kakashi canceled his Chidori in wonder. Kaiza, the hero of the village, was the brother of Zabuza, the demon of the Hidden Village of the Mist; it was unbelievable. How could it be?

"Where is he?" Zabuza said, interrupting Kakashi's train of thought.

"He died, by Gatoh's order," Naruto responded as he pointed toward the two swordsmen that he dropped by Haku. "Those two are the ones that actually killed him. I thought that you would like to get some vengeance on them."

Zabuza slowly pulled out his sword and turned toward the swordsmen. "Thank you, Naruto, I appreciate it," Zabuza said as he went toward the two swordsmen and lifted them on their feet. He, then, slowly turned to the swordsmen and pulled out his sword. "You killed my brother, I hope you enjoy what I will do to you," Zabuza said as he sheared off the legs of swordsmen, but before either could scream, two needles hit their neck.

Everyone quickly turned to Haku. "I don't want them to scream, let them know how truly helpless they are," she said.

Zabuza nodded as he slashed off the arms of swordsmen, watching them squirm as the blood squirted out of the wounds. Naruto walked up next to Zabuza and created a set of seals. Naruto's hands then turned into flames, which he used to cauterize the wounds that Zabuza made. Zabuza looked questioningly at Naruto, as Naruto spoke, "You don't want them to bleed to death do you?" Zabuza nodded as he continued to torture the swordsmen.

Naruto say Sakura pull out a kunai, he knew that Sakura would not understand what was going on. So before Sakura could act, Naruto spoke, "Sakura." This got her attention. "Could you look after Sasuke for me," Naruto continued. This got Sakura and Kakashi's attention.

Haku looked at Sasuke and removed the needles from his body, "He's only unconscious, and I didn't kill him." She, then turned to Kakashi, "You should be proud, he was able to produce the Sharingan."

Kakashi nodded as Sakura went to Sasuke's side. Both could not understand what was going on, but they knew that Naruto had a lot of explaining to do.

Unfortunately before any answers could be given, a voice was heard off in the distance. "Looks like you got beaten pretty badly."

Everyone turned to see Gatoh and a league of armed men. Gatoh had a smug look about himself, which Naruto growled at, wanting nothing more that to remove it as painfully as possible. "I'm disappointed, Zabuza." Gatoh said.

"We had a little change in plans," Gatoh said as he gloated. He then say two of his swordsmen in front of Zabuza, "What's going on Zabuza, why are my men like that?"

Before Zabuza could answer, Naruto stepped up, "They're like that because they obeyed your order." Seeing the questioning look on Gatoh's face, Naruto continued, "The attempted kidnapping of Tazuna's daughter, and the death of Kaiba-nii-chan, brother of Zabuza."

Realization came across the face of Gatoh's face, and then horror as the last three words repeated in Gatoh's mind. It was then he realized that he had his army, which caused him to recover and growled, "It doesn't matter, and you will all die today."

Naruto began to chuckle, then giggle, then it turned into a full-blown belly laugh. "You think your army can defeat us? I have one fully charged ninjas, three ninjas that just need a rest, and one that are just plain tired that will recover by the end of the day," Naruto continued. He then began to walk toward Gatoh's. Kakashi tried to stop him, when Zabuza stopped him.

"This is a once in a life time occurrence, do not stop him. You will be surprised at what Uzumaki-san could do," Zabuza said as he watched Naruto head toward Gatoh.

Gatoh could not believe the gall of this kid, 'How dare he assume that he can handle me. I will teach him!' With a signal, he sent two guards toward Naruto, and said, "Kill that kid!"

The two guards nodded and charged at Naruto. However, Naruto continued to walk, unafraid of the danger that these two guards posed.

"My 'Father' made me promise not to use his style… Well, only the deadly parts of it," Naruto said as his head remained down. "However, I wouldn't want to sully it by using it on scum like you. You fail to realize that when you face me, You Are Already Dead," Naruto continued as he caught each of the guard's swords with two fingers. "I believe that you should make your peace, because tonight you will see HELL!" With that he lunged forward, destroying the swords, and quickly passing between the two guards. He landed in a crouch and continued on, as if ignoring the two guards.

The guards realizing what had happened, turned to charge at Naruto… well, at least, that was the plan. It was as they turned that caused Gatoh's group, Kakashi, Sakura, and Tazuna to become stunned. Five lines began to appear on the guards, these lines became more pronounce. It was then that each line showed to be separations as each section separated, and each guard separated into five sections.

As they remained stunned, Naruto in a whispered that was heard by everybody, "Nanto Suichō Ken style." Naruto then unleashed his killer intent, freezing Gatoh's group.

It was those words that caused Gatoh's group to show signs of true terror. Even after centuries, the legend of the Nanto style still caused fear. 'It can't be, it's just not true,' was the thought that ran through the minds of Kakashi and Gatoh's group.

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Sasuke was beginning to wake up; as he did he heard a voice calling for him. At first, he thought that it was someone calling him to heaven, but as his eyes fluttered open he saw Sakura. He then saw Tazuna looking off to a distance while Sakura was at his side. He called out to Sakura, and began to sit up.

"Don't strain yourself, you did well for your first real fight, Uchiha-san," a voice said, which caused Sasuke to look for it. Surprisingly, the voice came from Haku. Sasuke quickly attempted to pull out a kunai. "I am not your enemy anymore Uchiha-san, at the moment, Naruto it handling the true enemy," Haku said. Sasuke turned to Sakura and saw her nod. Sasuke then asked about Naruto, to which, Sakura pointed. Sasuke turned and looked.

Naruto then stood up and looked directly at Gatoh. "I promised Kaiza that I would handle his killer directly. After all, I couldn't let my distant cousin down now can I." Naruto then rapidly produced hand seals.

'It can't be, how would he know those seals,' thought Kakashi.

"Shuushin No Jutsu." Naruto said as he disappeared and reappeared in the middle of Gatoh's group. Just as they were about to react, Naruto began to spin rapidly. Soon screams of pain could be heard as hands, arms, and other body parts began to separate from their respective bodies. Gatoh was somehow spared from having his body parts separated. As he backed away, he saw the entire group come apart at the seams. It took less than minute for the entire group to fall. The moans and screams from the dying could be heard as Naruto slowly stood up, and turned toward Gatoh.

Gatoh turned away from Naruto and backed away. He knew that he had little chance of killing the ninjas today, but if he could escape, then he would be able to get his revenge. Just as he was about to reach the ladder, he felt a hand grab him and pull him back.

"Where are you going Gatoh?" Naruto asked. "Remember what I said, you are going to hell tonight," Naruto continued as he threw Gatoh to the pile of corpses. Naruto began creating hand seals. Gatoh looked on as Naruto finished his hand seals.

"Kaiton: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" Naruto said. The resulting fireball burned everything in its path. A wave of flame was the last thing that Gatoh saw. It only took a few minutes but by the end there was nothing that remained of Gatoh or his henchmen.

Naruto then turned toward the rest of his group and waved, saying, "Sorry, Inari, but sometimes a hero saves everyone before the others arrive."

The rest of the group turned to see that Inari had mobilized the town. Inari had a smile on his face as he realized that Naruto had handled the situation.

* * *

Later after the Bridge was build

* * *

Team Seven, Zabuza, and Haku were on the bridge. They had spent their time training, while the bridge was being built. Although, there were several times that Sasuke had challenged Naruto, only to be turned down, repeated.

The entire village had come out to see the group off. "We've completed the bridge thanks to you, but we're going to miss you," Tazuna said.

Naruto smiled and said, "Now, now, old man, we'll visit you again one day."

Inari responded, "Promise?"

Naruto smiled, "Inari… You're going to get lonely, aren't you? You can cry, you know. Cry…"

Inari interrupted, "I'm not going to cry! You can cry, too, Naruto."

"Is that so…" Naruto said. He quickly turned around, "See you later!" he responded as he began to cry. As the group left, Naruto could hear Tazuna.

"That young man changed Inari's heart, and Inari changed the hearts of the villagers. That young man created a bridge, known as courage, which led to hope," Tazuna said.

"Bridge, eh? Oh, yeah. We have to name this bridge, too," a villager said.

"I forgot, but I have a perfect name for this bridge," Tazuna said.

"What is it?" the villager responded.

"How about, the Naruto Big Bridge?" Tazuna asked. To which everyone agreed.

Naruto smiled as the group walked on the bridge. As they left the bridge, Naruto sensed a familiar presence. His smile grew as he looked off toward the distance.

"Is there something wrong?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto shook his head, and asked to use the restroom in the woods, to which, Kakashi nodded and told him to catch up. Naruto nodded and left.

As soon as he went an appropriate distance, he scanned the area to make sure that he wasn't followed. Once he was satisfied, he went to where he felt the presence was.

Once he got to the presence, he smiled and said, "Hello, Ken-sama."

* * *

Author's Notes:

I wanted to thank another author for the plush toy idea; I think that it is hilarious that a mean person would have something so… cute. 

Also, this is another change that I wanted to create. Haku to me was a person that could have been done better. She will not be a romantic interest of Naruto's.

Next Episode: Homeward bound, it was a trying time in the Country of the Wave, but hopefully that is behind us. What is this… the Chuunin Exams? Secrets are revealed… but can I keep mine? Enemies are coming, can I handle it? Ken-sama, what are you doing here?

Next time on Fist of Naruto: The Chuunin Exams, part one.

* * *

Addendum:

Sorry for lateness of the next chapter, but I have been trying to work a way around some issues that came up in the last fanfic.

One of them was Naruto using Nanto style attacks, the reason for this is the death of Kaiba, as everyone who saw the anime knows that when Sasuke was "killed" by Haku, Naruto went nuts. He unleashed the Kyuubi, well same with the fanfic. Naruto had found out that one of his family had died at the hands of Gatoh's men, and as everyone know if you push Naruto be prepared to face the consequences. Therefore since he could not use the Hokuto Shin Ken, he needed to use something as deadly, ergo the Nanto style.

The other was the so-called Naruto's change in attitude. Note that this attack was done because some one had attacked Naruto's family. Something that is very precious to him. Naruto killed the men because they took orders from a swine. But the death of Gatoh was fitting because it was not fast. Gatoh burned alive, the agony was music to Naruto's ears.

* * *

Side bar

I am still looking for people to help with the pre-read, to check for spelling errors, and any discontinuity. Email me your email address and let me know if you are interested.


	8. Chapter 7

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

Chuunin Exams:

The Prelude to the Chuunin Exams

* * *

'The trip back was a bore, and every time there was a break Sasuke would stare at me intensely. I should have never used those techniques, but I was so upset at what happened to Kaiba-nii-chan,' Naruto thought and sighed as he say the gates of Konoha. He had sent a clone to alert the 'Old Man' that they were coming back and to have the Demon Brothers waiting for them so that Zabuza and Haku could be on their way.

That was the plan, however, as the group approached they saw the Mizukage, Hokage, and the two Demon Brothers waiting for them. After a short introduction between Team Seven and the Mizukage, the Mizukage explained why he was here. Apparently, a "friend" of Mizukage had asked that the Demon Brothers, Haku, and their teacher Zabuza stay in Konoha for a short time. The premise was to allow a team from each village to live, work, and play in the other village, thereby promoting a sense of camaraderie. The Hokage, furthered this, by explaining to Team Seven that they would be helping Zabuza's team by showing them around Konoha. After the explanation, the two kages went back to the Hokage's tower, while Team Seven showed Zabuza's team around Konoha.

It was a hard five months. First it was Kakashi trying to figure out how he did those techniques. If it wasn't that, then it would have been Sasuke trying to challenge him. Naruto knew that the two would try to find out, however, he also knew that they would not be able to find anything about the style. He knew this because any knowledge of the style was banned due to the Fourth's law. It had gotten to the point where Naruto had to ask the 'Old Man' to step in, which he did by telling Sasuke and Kakashi, directly, to leave Naruto alone.

'Not like that stopped Sasuke,' Naruto thought as he remembered seeing Sasuke attempt to replicate what he thought saw Naruto do. 'Good thing I did it faster than what they thought they saw, and used a different energy source, or it would have been hard to explain to Ken-sama why they were able to copy such a deadly style,' Naruto thought as he remembered what his father had told him.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Naruto was watching Kenshiro as he was performed the Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken. He could barely keep up with the fast pace punches. The punches were so fast that they seem to have vanished or simply become one with the air around him.

"Naruto," Ken said, "You will meet people out in the world that will try to steal your techniques. However, you will not have to worry too much about that, many will try but in order for them to fully use the techniques, they must be able to use 100 of their body, mind and soul. Not only that, they must understand the doctrine of the Hokuto Shin Ken and the Nanto Sei Ken. There is no one out there that can accomplish that. But that does not mean you can become complacent, you must practice until you are so fast that no one may sense or see where you are coming from, or how you are able to accomplish what you set out to achieve."

Naruto nodded.

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Naruto chuckled as he silently thanked Ken-sama and the Kyuubi for those lessons. He knew that even though the techniques were not from his style, if Sasuke or Kakashi were able to copy those techniques then they would become so much deadlier. Especially Sasuke, whom with his quest for vengeance would use the techniques ruthlessly and without any regards of the consequences. Naruto shivered as he thought of what would happen if Sasuke did somehow learn the Hokuto Shin Ken and uses the Matouki instead of the Touki.

'A new evil would dawn on this age and destroy every thing in its path, if that ever happened,' Naruto thought sadly. 'Or the end of a lineage, whichever comes first.' Naruto shook his head, he knew that it would never come to that, he would stop Sasuke, by the code of the Hokuto Shin Ken; he knew what he had to do if Sasuke ever learned any of the deadly styles. 'I have to watch out for him and make sure that nothing like that happens.'

For the next few weeks, Naruto would follow the same routine. Early morning training with Kyuubi, arrive at noon to get their assignments from Kakashi, and then dinner at Ramen Ichiraku. As days became weeks, the questions and challenges slowly faded away, much to Naruto's enjoyment. However, the training sessions became immensely harder as the Kyuubi began training him in seals and demon jutsus. Naruto recalled a recent jutsu the Kyuubi taught him.

* * *

Flashback

Two days ago

* * *

"**ALL RIGHT KIT, IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO LEARN THIS JUTSU**," the Kyuubi said as he made some signs and end it with the demon sign. "**ONCE YOU FINISH FOCUS THE YOUKI BETWEEN YOU KNUCKLES, AND YELL KYUUBI SPIKES NO JUTSU**," the Kyuubi explained, "**IT WILL HURT LIKE A BITCH BUT… WELL YOU WILL SEE**."

Naruto nodded as he did as the Kyuubi said. As soon as he finished the signs, he yelled "Kyuubi Spikes No Jutsu." Six spikes came shooting out from between his knuckles, however, Naruto didn't really notice it as he screamed in pain as the spikes ejected from his hands.

Who said that learning demon jutsu would be fun and cool.

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Naruto squeezed his hand, making sure that they still worked; he still would feel the phantom pain, even after he mastered the jutsu.

After an assignment, Kakashi excused himself so that he could file the report, while Sasuke went off to train. Naruto had noticed that for the past few assignments Sasuke become more and more distant. This had cause problems with teamwork, which Naruto was hesitant to call, believing that Kakashi would say something about it. It was during his musing that he noticed a rectangle shaped box.

'What are they trying to pull?' Naruto thought as he waited for the box to get closer. Once it got close enough, Naruto lifted his foot and placed it on the box. "I hope no-one is within this rock, I feel like smashing it," Naruto said as he pulled back his fist and prepared to smash it.

"NOOOO!" was yelled out from the box and smoke appeared around it. As it dissipated, Naruto heard a voice cry out, "Hey, you used too much gunpowder."

The children then began posing as Naruto raise his eyebrow and look curiously at them.

"The one who possesses the sex appeal of an adult, and the female ninja from the senior group, Moegi."

"The one who loves dividing numbers, Udon."

"This village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"

"The three of us make the Konohamaru Corps!"

Naruto could not believe his eyes, the formation and the verbal declaration, what person does that in real life? As he massaged the bridge of his nose, he noticed the goggles, as asked why they had them, as he pulled out a soda. After getting Konohamaru's response, he decided to act cold so that he could train some more. However, Konohamaru wanted them to play ninja, before Naruto could respond, Sakura interrupted him.

"What's the point in ninja playing Ninja?" Sakura asked looking despondent.

"What is it?" Naruto asked as he began to take a sip.

Sakura wasn't hearing his response only what Sasuke had told her earlier. It was then that Konohamaru interrupted by asking Naruto who Sakura was. Konohamaru then turned to Sakura and looked at her. He then got a bright idea and pulled Naruto's jacket.

"You're better than I thought." Konohamaru stated.

Naruto looked at Konohamaru, questioningly, "Huh?" he asked as he took another sip from his soda.

Konohamaru then gave a fox-like grin while raising his hand and said, "She's your…" He then raised his pink up, "right?"

Naruto spit out his soda, and Sakura began to get angry.

"WHAT…" Naruto exclaimed as Konohamaru cleaned his face of soda. "You can't be serious, why would I go out with a Sasuke-obsessed, pink-haired, ill-tempered, tom-boy?" Naruto asked, not realizing that Sakura was right there.

"YOU IDIOT!" Sakura exclaimed as she used her fist to attempt to punch Naruto, only to have it caught.

"See," Naruto stated as he held Sakura's fist.

"SUGOI!" the Konohamaru Corps exclaimed. Meanwhile Sakura was stunned that Naruto had caught her hand.

"Let's go play." Naruto said as he turned and walked away.

As the group started to leave, Konohamaru decided to have one last jab. "Bye, bye, ugly-wide-forehead girl, no TOM-BOY!"

Naruto turned stunned that Konohamaru would say something like that, and as he watched, Sakura slowly turned her head toward them. Her eyes appeared to be pure white; her smile was completely sinister, her aura became dark red; a vein bulged off her forehead and proceeded to throb in and out. It was that look that scared the Konohamaru Corps. Once Sakura had turned and she began running after them. It was that action that made the Konohamaru Corps dashed away in earnest. Naruto, however, decided to jog after them. 'After all, it's good training for stamina,' he thought.

Naruto watched as Konohamaru took the lead. 'It wouldn't surprise me, as he did insult Sakura,' Naruto thought as he saw Konohamaru run straight into a black-clad young man with a bundle on his back. He then noticed the female with what appeared to be a big fan behind the young man. 'Hmmm… Their not from around here,' Naruto thought as he noticed the headband, 'Hidden Village of Sand, what are they doing here?' He watched as Konohamaru was grabbed and lifted to meet the ninja at eye level.

"Konohamaru!" Moegi and Udon yelled.

"That hurt, brat." The black-clad ninja said as he tightened his grip.

"Stop it. We're going to get scolded later," the female ninja stated.

Sakura tried to apologize, while she was trying to figure out who the two people were.

"Let him go," Naruto stated in a soft, voice as he stepped forward. 'Hmmm… it seems that we have attracted some attention… Sasuke, Haku, and another one, they are all hiding themselves. Should I? No, not yet, I don't know who the other person is. What a minute? Is that? YOUKI?' Naruto thought as he stared at the black-clad ninja.

'Heh. These guys are Genins of Konoha,' Kankuro thought as he grinned. "But I want to play around before some noisy people come," he stated.

"Let go!" Konohamaru yelled as he tried to kick himself free.

"You're very energetic, kid." Kankuro said.

By this time Naruto was getting impatient. "Yo! Konohamaru," Naruto called out. "I thought I told you to get lessons from your grandfather. Surely, the old man taught you how to get out of this? Or are you going to let this kabuki-faced puny punk get away with this? You are after all, my rival, right?"

Both Konohamaru and Kankuro were stunned. Kankuro could not believe what the yellow-haired kid had just said. While, Konohamaru realized that Naruto was trying to get him to focus. These thoughts help stir both individuals into action. First, Kankuro let his guard down by yelling at Naruto, "I hate short people. And you are so impertinent for someone younger than me!"

As Kankuro turned away, Konohamaru began doing seals and yelled, "Mizu Ken No Jutsu!" A ball of water hit Kankuro in the face causing him to drop Konohamaru. Konohamaru quickly ran to Naruto, with a smile on his face. "Pretty cool, eh, my Rival," Konohamaru said as he stood in front of Naruto.

Naruto smiled, 'He has grown since I have last seen him.'

Kankuro was pissed, a kid showed him up. It did not help that Temari was laughing at Kankuro. Just as he was about to say something in response, he saw Naruto turn around and begin to walk away. "Che, where do you think your going, brat," Kankuro said as he saw the Konohamaru Corp leave with Naruto.

"I don't have time to spend on bakas that don't know their place," Naruto said as he stopped and moved his head to the side. The rest of the group saw that he had his eyes closed. "If you want to have some fun, find it else where."

Kankuro was angry. "I hate kids like you, who think they're so clever," Kankuro said as he reached for his strap. He pulled his strap and released what he was carrying from his back.

Temari saw what Kankuro was going to do and became worried. "Oi! You're going to use Karasu?"

But before, Karasu could act, Naruto turned and looked at the tree that was on the other side of the fence, and said, "You can come out now, the three of you are starting to bore me." Hearing this, everyone turned to the tree.

"Heh, should have known you would pick me up," Haku said as she appeared in a puff of smoke. In her raised hand, were three needles ready for battle.

Sasuke grumbled, he wanted to find out more about the ninjas so he made his appearance. He tried to appear casual and leaned back. But he was currently trying to figure out how Naruto knew he was here. He, also, was trying to figure out how Naruto sensed Haku when he could not.

Gaara was stunned, he was sure that no one could detect him. He decided to wait to see if the child did, in fact, recognize his presence.

Naruto sighed, 'Two out of three appeared, I guess the other one does not believe me.'

Kankuro grumbled, he did not want to be shown up by a short kid. He was about to yell at the kid, when he saw the kid pull out a kunai. He instantly went on the defensive, thinking that the kid was going to attack him. Meanwhile, Temari was looking at Sasuke thinking how 'handsome' he was.

Naruto grumbled, 'I guess I better get that person to show himself.' He then threw the kunai at the branch where he felt the individual was. "Come on, I don't have all day," Naruto stated much to the surprise of everyone there.

Gaara stared at the kunai at his feet; the ninja knew where he was, why else would he send the kunai there. His mother was telling him to run, but why? After all, this was only a kid. He decided to make an appearance, so that he could find out more about this kid.

Naruto sighed as the third person appeared; he noticed that the other two ninjas were stunned as they say the third appear. 'Why would they be stunned?' he thought as he saw all three come down from the tree. Sasuke and Haku went to Naruto's side, while Gaara appeared by the others. 'Hmm… that is definitely youki. But why would a ninja have it?'

'**STUPID KID!**' the Kyuubi yelled. '**CAN'T YOU SEE HIS FOREHEAD!**'

Naruto looked and say the word love on the mysterious ninja and saw the word 'Love' on his forehead. 'Yeah, so, what does that have to do…' Naruto paused in his discussion, 'It's a seal isn't it.'

'**THAT'S RIGHT, BUT UNLIKE YOUR SEAL. IT IS NOT COMPLETE, LOOK AT HIS EYES, THEY MARK HIS AS A CHANNEL. IF HE EVER FALLS ASLEEP OR UNCONSCIOUS, THE DEMON WILL BE RELEASED**,' Kyuubi said as it tried to figure out which demon was bound to the child.

'Is there any way to change it… to make it complete?' Naruto asked the Kyuubi, as he got himself prepared for anything.

'**YES, BUT YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THAT… YET**,' the Kyuubi replied.

Naruto sighed, he watched as Gaara scolded Kankuro and he turned to leave. Sakura attempted to find out why they were here, to which Temari told them about the Chuunin Selection exams. Naruto, then glanced toward the tree with his eyes, 'Three more have approached. I guess they are here for the exams as well.'

Just as Gaara and his group were turning to leave, Sasuke yelled out, "Hey, you there. What is your name?"

Temari quickly turned and asked, "Me?" Hoping that Sasuke would say yes.

"No, the one next to you with the gourd," Sasuke replied. He then pointed to the person that he wanted to know.

Gaara turned and answered, "Gaara of the Desert. I am interested in the person behind you."

Sasuke was pissed, 'how dare this guy ignore me.' "She is Saku…"

"No," Gaara said calmly, and pointed to Naruto, who was walking away. "Him."

Naruto stopped, he took a short breath and spoke softly, but it still was heard by all, "I am Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto then raised his head, and continued, "And I know what you are Gaara of the Desert." Naruto sighed and continued to walk away raising his hand, and wave to everyone there as he left. The Konohamaru Corp. followed Naruto, hoping to get a chance to play ninja.

'I think you better teach me how to complete the seal. I have a bad feeling that if I don't learn I may regret it,' Naruto thought as he walked away.

**'YOU'RE RIGHT KIT, I WILL HAVE TO TEACH IT TO YOU, BUT JUST NOT YET,'** The Kyuubi replied.

* * *

Meanwhile at the

Hokage Tower

* * *

Hokage had gathered all the Jounin and Chuunin. He explained to them that they were going to start the Chuunin Selection exams and wanted the ones who were in charge of the new Genins to step forward. He called out their names and asked if they wished to enter any Genins in their groups. All three had declared that all of them were ready. The murmurs of how it had been a while since rookies were entered into the Chuunin Selection Exams.

It was Iruka that interrupted everyone by calling out, "Please wait!"

"What is it, Iruka?" the Hokage asked.

"Please let me speak, Hokage-sama," Iruka said, "Excuse me for interfering, but the nine who had their names called were students of mine at the academy. Every one of them are talented, but it is too early for some! They need more experience before they enter the exams!"

Kakashi interrupted by saying, "I became a Chuunin when I was six years younger than Naruto."

"Naruto could become ANBU if he wanted to," Iruka said, only to be interrupted by the Hokage. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, while others were talking about what Iruka had said.

"That's enough, Iruka. If you are so worried test them yourself and see if they're ready," the Hokage stated. "Now then, every one knows their assignment, dismiss." Once everyone had left, the Hokage took off his hat and said, "Do you think Naruto is really ready for this?"

"If he wasn't, I would not have let him return." Ken said as he revealed himself from behind the curtain.

The Hokage nodded, "Are you still going through with your plan?"

Ken remained silent.

* * *

The next day

* * *

Team Seven was waiting by the bridge waiting for Kakashi to arrive. As they waited, Sakura vented about how late their teacher was.

Kakashi appeared on the top of the bridge, "Hello, everyone. I got lost in the path known as life today…"

Naruto saw that Sakura was about to react, and decided to join in. "A LIE!" the two declared as they pointed to Kakashi.

Kakashi leapt down and continued, "I'll get to the point. I recommended all of you to the Chuunin selection exam, so…" He handed out three applications. "Here, take these applications."

Team Seven was stunned that Kakashi would do that.

Kakashi continued, "However, the recommendation does not force you to take it. You can decide if you want to take it or not." He passed out the applications to each member. "Only those who wish to take it are to sign the application, and… Five days after that, get to school by 3 PM and go to room 301. That is all." He then dismissed the group to let them decide whether to go or not.

Team Seven was walking back from their meeting. Each member had their own thoughts of the coming Chuunin Exams.

Naruto held the application high above his head. 'Another step closer to my goal,' he thought. "There must be a lot of strong ninjas there." Naruto exclaimed as he thought about Gaara.

'I might be able to fight him,' Sasuke thought as he remembered Gaara. 'And learn Naruto's jutsus, then brother I will come after you.'

'I don't want to…' Sakura thought as she stopped walking. 'I can't even keep up with Sasuke-kun, or even Naruto. I can't take the Chuunin exam…'

* * *

Later that night

* * *

Naruto watched from the top of the gate as he saw the ninjas enter into Konoha. 'There are some interesting ninjas coming. I hope to face them all.' He then felt someone approach. He stood up and waited until the person came close. "Good evening, Ken-sama, what are you doing here in Konoha?"

Ken smiled, even at a young age, Naruto was able to sense people, this was a good skill that would allow an assassin to never be taken by surprise. "There are two things that I am here for. One," Ken pulled out a small package, and handed it to Naruto. "Happy birthday, I know that the others are waiting for you at Ramen Ichiraku. So here's your present, I hope you enjoy it." He watched as Naruto took the package, but before Naruto could open it, Ken spoke. "The second thing is that I am here to find out how far you've progressed. Meet me at the training ground, let's see how far you've come." Ken turned and allowed Naruto to lead him to the training ground. 'Yes, you have grown, my son, but how much remains to be seen.'

* * *

The next night

* * *

Kakashi waited for Iruka to finish with his "test". For the entire day, he remembered Iruka's words during the meeting. "'Naruto could become ANBU if he wanted to', I wonder what he meant by that?" Kakashi asked himself out loud as he looked off to the moon. He knew that Naruto trained with someone powerful, only the Hokage knew who that person was. Also, the fact that Naruto knew the Yondaime's special jutsu, a jutsu that no one could replicate, not even himself. Sure he did try repeatedly to do it but failed to due so. It seemed that the jutsu would forever be lost after the death of his mentor. That is until Naruto performed the jutsu on the bridge.

Kakashi sighed, he remembered seeing Sasuke attempt to do the jutsu, and he had told Sasuke that it would be impossible to replicate. He remembered that Sasuke asked why, which Kakashi had no explanation for. It was not a bloodline jutsu; he knew that because there was no record of it within the archives. He thought back to when he first said it.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Team Five had their first C-class mission; they were to escort a model to another country when bandits attacked them. Because of the bandit gang was so big, their teacher had to use the "Shuushin no Jutsu". Kakashi would later hear a confrontation that occurred after they had finished their mission between their sensei and one of their teammates.

* * *

Later that night

* * *

"Arashi-Sensei."

"Hmm, yes Obito-san?" Arashi asked.

"How come I could not copy the Jutsu that you did?" Obito asked.

Arashi chuckled, and rubbed the top of Obito's head. "The reason is simple, it is because you are not ready yet." Before Obito could interrupt, Arashi continued. "This jutsu is a special jutsu, it can not be copied because in order for you to use it, you must unleash your 'Full' potential. However, currently people use only about 30 of their body's true potential. Hence, in order for you to use this jutsu, you must surpass that to unlock your true potential."

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Kakashi sighed; even to this day no one had been able to recreate the Fourth's famous jutsu. And without any instructions, he knew that no one would.

'So how could Naruto do it?'

A ninja appeared behind Kakashi. "How were they?" he asked.

"Although we went through the trouble of setting up a special preliminary exam… All nine rookies passed," the ninja said as the ninja disappeared to reveal… Iruka. "It seems that their skills are growing, just like the three of you have said." Iruka continued. 'But the real Chuunin exam isn't going to be that easy.'

Kakashi turned to Iruka and asked, "What do you know about Naruto?"

Iruka looked at Kakashi, he knew that this question would come after his announcement. Many ninjas simply could not or would not believe that Naruto was capable of doing what he had declared. 'It's too bad that none of them know what I do.' "I am sorry, but the Hokage forbade me from ever answering that. If you want to know ask the Hokage or Naruto. You would have better luck asking the Hokage, but don't let Naruto know you did, it would betray the trust he has for you." With that Iruka left knowing that the answer he gave was not the one that Kakashi wanted… but it was the only answer that he could give.

* * *

Meanwhile

At a Training Ground

* * *

There, stood a target that had many different weapons driven into it. As three more were thrown at it, a voice is heard. "Hey, have you heard?" a voice said, "This upcoming Chuunin exam will have rookies for the first time in five years."

"No way. The Jounins must be trying to look good," a female voice replied.

"I heard that three of them are from Kakashi's unit," was said from a young man wearing a green jumpsuit.

"That's interesting," a female ninja replied as she twirled a kunai. "Do you think we will face HIM?" she asked as she threw the kunai at another target to the right of her.

Under the target sat another ninja with white eyes. "Either way, I pity them," he said.

* * *

Early the next day

* * *

Naruto woke up early so that he could get himself ready. He knew that having Ken-sama here was no accident, and that the training from last night was to see how strong he had become. After preparing himself for the day, Naruto looked at his wardrobe. A chain mail vest, jean pants, a red shirt and leather jacket with a shoulder guard on the right side was laid out in preparation. As Naruto got dressed he added three pouches, one on his right leg, another attached to the left side of his belt, and the third was hidden under the leather jacket along the small of his back. After getting dress, Naruto appraised himself in the mirror. 'It's missing something,' he thought as he glanced at his weapon case. His eyes wandered as he remembered Zabuza with his sword. 'That's it I need some weapons, so that I don't have to get up close with the kunais.'

Naruto walked to the weapon case and pulled out a kodachi and slid it to the small of his back. He turned his eyes toward some of the more exotic weapons, and pulled out two, curved scimitar. On one side, the edgewas razor sharp. The other side had small curved teeth, one whose curves faced the base and protruding out a quarter of an inch. And with a quick flick of the wrist, allow the user to use switch from one side to the other side of the scimitar. The length of the blade measured the length from his wrist to his elbow. Sheathing both in an X-shape on his back, Naruto nodded as he left for the school.

As he turned to leave he adjusted his wristbands and his leg bands, as well as his inner vest that was under his shirt. 'I don't know if I should do this but it would be great training, nonetheless.'

* * *

Later at the school

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto were at the school waiting outside for Sakura. Naruto noticed her approached and nudged Sasuke. "Your late, Sakura," Naruto said.

Sakura blushed and waved at them. "Sorry," she said to Naruto as she turned to Sasuke. Her thoughts went back to yesterday as she remembered seeing the Sasuke clone being killed by the masked ninja. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun," she said quietly.

"Morning," Sasuke replied as he thought, 'Sakura's acting weird.'

Team Seven then went into the school.

As they went up they saw a green-clad ninja get hit and fall to the floor. They then heard a voice speaking, "You're trying to take the Chuunin exam with that kind of level?"

Another voice continued, "Maybe you should quit, kids."

The earlier voice added, "You're still just kids."

The woman who approached the green-clad ninja spoke, "Please, let us through." She then stood up and began to walk to the door, only to get hit by the two ninjas that were guarding the door.

"How cruel," one ninja exclaimed as the others could not believe what they had seen.

"What did you say? Listen up, we're being kind to you," the ninja with two large kunais on his back said. "The Chuunin exam is extremely difficult."

The second ninja with the head covering followed up by saying, "We have seen those who gave up on becoming a ninja or become seriously injured after taking this exam."

"A Chuunin is a commander of a squad. It's the commander's responsibility for failing any mission and the death of their subordinates. And to think, these kids are trying to…" the first ninja said as he stopped to sniffled.

"What's wrong with sifting out those who aren't going to pass anyway?" the other ninja said.

Naruto saw Sasuke walk up to the ninjas, and say, "That's a sound argument. But I will pass. And undo this field you've created using an illusion technique. I want to go to the third floor."

Naruto massaged his forehead as he shook his head. He heard two ninjas conversing in the background.

"What's this guy talking about?"

"I don't know."

"Oh?" The ninja that sniffled replied.

"You noticed." The second one said.

Sasuke turned his head and spoke, "Sakura, how about you? You should've noticed first."

"What?" she responded.

"Your analyst skills and illusionary technique know-how is the best in our squad." Sasuke replied.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered softly, "Thank you." She then took a deep breath and said, "Of course, I've noticed it already. Because, this is the second floor."

'Well, at least he picked up on Sakura's inadequacy and boosted her self-confidence,' Naruto thought. 'But he's still a blow hard,' he continued as the sign changed from 301 to 201.

"Hmm…" said the ninja that sniffled, "You're pretty good. But just being able to detect it isn't enough… ne." It was then that the ninja attacked, to which Sasuke responded in kind.

Naruto saw what was going to happen, as he was about to move when he noticed that the green-clad jumpsuit ninja was going to react. 'I better let him do it, don't want to tip my hand. Besides it seems someone is in love with Sakura,' he thought as he noticed that Lee glanced at Sakura during Sasuke's speech. Naruto watched as Lee stopped the kick from both ninja, and softly grinned. 'Show off,' he thought.

Sakura could not believe what she had seen. 'He's fast,' she thought, 'He's different from the person who was just being hit.'

Sasuke could not believe what just happened. 'He stopped my kick?' he thought as Lee let go of the legs. 'Was that Chakra in his arm?'

"Hey, you broke the promise." Neiji said as he and Tenten approached Lee, "You're the one who didn't want to gather attention by doing something that stands out."

Lee nodded and softly said, "But." He turned toward Sakura, blushing deeply and clenched his fist close to his chest.

Naruto caught this and could not believe what he was seeing. 'Are you kidding me… Sakura?' He silently cursed as he watched Lee's actions. 'I think he's taken one too many hits to the head.'

Tenten shook her head and said, "She must be why…"

Sasuke was watching this conversation. 'The bruise he had is gone. It must be a fake.'

Lee walked up to Sakura, "My name is Rock Lee. You're Sakura-san, right?"

Sakura blinked, "What?"

Lee proceeded to wink at her, then give a thumbs up. "Let's go out together! I will protect you until I die!" he proceeded to exclaim. He then grinned and allowed the light to catch his teeth thereby allowing it to glimmer.

Sakura was stunned and slowly stammered, "No way…"

Lee was stunned. "What?" he said as he heard Sakura continue, "You're too "unique" for my tastes." His head fell forward in shame and embarrassment.

Neiji walked up to the group, "Hey, you there." Sasuke turned to Neiji. "Identify yourself," Neiji said.

Naruto turned to see Sasuke, Neiji, and Tenten conversing.

Sasuke replied, "You're supposed to identify yourself before you ask."

Neiji continued, "You're a rookie, aren't you? How old are you?"

Sasuke responded, "I'm not obligated to answer that."

Neiji stirred with anger. "What," he said as Tenten giggle at the interaction.

'He's cute,' she thought as she saw Naruto in the background nod to her. 'It seems he's here… and he brought his weapons. I wonder if he has any new designs?' Tenten thought as she examined the weapons that Naruto had.

Naruto patted Lee on his back as Sasuke joined up with Team Seven. "I'm too unique…?" Lee said. Naruto smiled and said, "It's okay Lee, it will be alright."

Sakura waited until Sasuke had joined them, she then urged Naruto and Sasuke to go with her to the floor above. As they were heading to the third floor, Sasuke thought, 'Well, well, looks like this Chuunin exam is full of monsters.' He then thought of Neiji, Lee, and Gaara.

Naruto was following his team. However, as he followed he kept his senses open, he did not want to deal with any more surprises. He sensed Lee was following them. 'Hopefully he is going to challenge Sasuke, and not me.'

* * *

As the team approached the exit to the outside, they heard a voice speak out from behind them, "You there with the sharp eyes. Wait." Team Seven turned to see Lee standing at the top of the stairwell.

Naruto noticed that Sakura had a shocked look on her face while Sasuke looked wary. 'Well that settles that question; he's after Sasuke, and not me. I wonder if there is any way that I could get out of here before things get started.'

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked.

Lee replied quickly, "Will you fight me right here, right now?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Fight you right here, right now?"

"Hai," Lee said, as he leapt down from the top to land in a crotched position, with one hand in front of him. "My name is Rock Lee. You're supposed to identify yourself before you ask for someone else's name, right…? Uchiha Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked amused, "So you know my name."

Lee got into a fighting position. "I would like to fight you. I would like to see how my moves will do against a descendant of the genius ninja clan." Lee paused, "Also… " He turned his head to Sakura, and blushed. "Sakura-san, I love you."

Sakura reacted instantly; crossing her arms in the air as if to wart off Lee, and shook her head viciously. "Noooo!" she exclaimed with a vengeance. "I hate those eyebrows! Your hairstyle, fuzzy eyebrows, and everything about you is too unique for me!" She continued as she shivered in horror.

"You're an angel," Lee said. He proceeded to lift his hand with his palm facing upward. Then with a quick wink a heart appeared in front of him. Lee then blew the heart to Sakura, only to see her dodge it at the last minute. "Very nice." Lee said, "How about this?" He then produced many more hearts, which flew toward Sakura.

Sakura screamed as she dodged all the hearts save the last. She saw that there was no way to avoid it, so she kept leaning back until she hit her head on the ground. As she got up, she thought, 'That was really close.' She then jumped forward and yelled, "Stop throwing weird things at me! I had to dodge those like my life depended on it!"

Naruto was trying hard not to laugh at Sakura's predicament, but he could not help but admire Lee's determination. He heard Sakura yelling at Lee, and saw that Lee slouched as he said, "You didn't have to avoid them that much…" He lean back on a pillar and watched as Sasuke began to speak.

"So you're challenging me knowing my name is Uchiha? I'm sorry to say this, but you're ignorant. Do you want to see what the name of Uchiha is capable of, fuzzy eyebrows?"

Lee got into a fighting position with his hand raised in front of him, as if to beckon Sasuke. "Please." 'I'm lucky. I get to fight the number one rookie this early. I will prove something to you, Gai-sensei,' Lee thought.

"Wait," Naruto yelled out. He then walked to the staircase and sat down. "I just wanted to get a better view." Naruto then proceed to pull out a bag of chips and open it. "Sakura, why don't you join me. That way we can let these two fight without having to worry about bystanders."

Sakura nodded and walk to Naruto. Once there, she stood next to him and accepted a chip.

Naruto looked at the two and said, "You can proceed."

Lee nodded; he then turned to toward Sasuke. "I will declare this now. You cannot defeat me. Because… I am the strongest of the Konoha Genins right now." Lee said with confidence.

Sasuke thought back to when Lee stopped his kick. He proceeds to grin, "Interesting. I'll accept it." After he spoke he went into a fighting stance.

It was then that Sakura notice the time. Before she could alert Sasuke, Naruto interrupted. "I know about the time Sakura and if the fight lasts more than twenty minutes."

Sasuke heard what Naruto said and scoffed. "It will only take five minutes," he said.

Naruto and Sakura watched as Sasuke charged at Lee, hoping to get a quick knockout. They watched, as Lee seems to disappear when Sasuke struck. 'I wonder how long it will take him to realize that he is out-class,' Naruto thought as Sasuke barely dodged the Konoha Whirlwind kick. They watched as Sasuke attempted to block the roundhouse kick, only to see it bypass the guard and hit Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled as Sasuke landed.

'Hmm… he has improved his speed,' Naruto thought as both Sasuke and Sakura tried to figure out how the kick when through.

As Sasuke stood up, he said, "Oh well, I'll use this time to get used to using my 'thing'. I'll show you."

Sakura noticed instantly what Sasuke was doing, as she leaned forward, Naruto placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Naruto nod his head, as if to tell her that he saw it too. As she smiled, she notices that Naruto shook his head again only negatively. 'What is Naruto trying to pull? Why is he not happy about the Sharingan?' she thought as she turned back toward the fight.

Sasuke charged again, he wanted to find out what technique Lee used against him and wanted to copy it so that he could use it later on. As soon as he got close, Lee once again disappeared. Before Sasuke could react, he was launched skyward as Lee kicked him in the chin.

Sakura was stunned; she could not believe that Sasuke's Sharingan was foiled. At the same time, Sasuke could not believe that the attack was not ninjutsu or genjutsu base.

Lee seeing that Sasuke finally realized what was happening decided to let Sasuke know the truth. "Yes, my moves are neither ninja or illusionary techniques," he said. He then charged toward Sasuke, and began his attacks.

Sasuke attempted to fight Lee; it was during this exchange that Sasuke realized that he was outclassed, as punches and kicks broke through his defenses. Finally after a brutal elbow, Sasuke staggered back, only to hear Lee continue his speech.

"Yes, my moves are just hand-to-hand combat," Lee said. "Sasuke-kun," he said as he disappeared once again, only to appear behind Sasuke. "You may not be able to believe it right away, but…"

Sasuke launched a backhand fist to hit Lee, only to see Lee avoid it by leaping away.

Lee continued, "I hear that the Sharingan has the ability to see through illusionary, hand-to-hand, and ninja techniques. You can definitely see through and deal with illusionary and ninja techniques that require forming seals and kneading Chakra… But for hand-to-hand combat, it's a little different."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, wanting to know why he could not defend himself against Lee's attacks.

"Even if you can see my movements with your Sharingan, your body does not have the speed to keep up with mine," Lee explained. "In other words, there's no point even if you can see with your eyes, if you can't keep up with your body. Do you know that there are genius-types and hard-working-types among the strong? If your Sharingan is a genius-type that carries the blood of Uchiha…" Lee say Sasuke charge, but continued with his speech, "Then I am a hard-working-type that continuously improves my hand-to-hand combat." Lee dodged the first punch. "Your Sharingan and my ultimate hand-to-hand," Lee dodged a kick, and continued, "combat skills are a bad combination." After Lee finished, he charged toward Sasuke.

Sasuke saw this and attempted to block the attack. 'I have to guard it…' he thought as he saw Lee charge. That kick launched Sasuke skyward. As Sasuke flew, he realized that he was not alone; Lee had somehow appeared behind him. Suddenly, he knew what was going to happen, but could only said the techniques name, "Shadow Dance…"

"And I will prove to you with this move…" Lee said as his left hand released its wrapping. "… That hard work surpasses geniuses." Lee continued.

Sasuke's eyes widen as he thought, 'What is he going to do?'

"I win!" Lee stated as he prepared his final move. However, before he could continue, a kunai and a pinwheel struck the wrapping. Pinning it to the wall. Sakura and Lee turned to where the pinwheel had flown from. "That's…" Lee said before being interrupted.

* * *

"Stop right there, Lee" a huge, red turtle with an orange armband and Konoha's headband shouted. Lee knew he was in trouble, and quickly used the wrapping to send himself to the ground toward the tortoise. Once he landed he knelt in front of the tortoise.

* * *

Sasuke continued his flight toward the far end of the room. 'What happened?' he thought, as he was sure that Lee was going to do a technique. "Sasuke-kun," Sakura said as she ran to catch Sasuke. Naruto stood up and walked toward his group. He knew that the Super Fuzzy Eyebrow was going to appear, and had wanted to stay as far away as possible. Naruto helped Sakura pick Sasuke up from the ground.

"Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Seeing no response, she thought, 'He's disturbed… He couldn't even fall safely…'

* * *

"You were watching?" Lee asked.

"Lee, that move is forbidden." The turtle said in a gruff voice, not bothering to answer Lee's question.

"I'm sorry, I got carried away…" Lee begged.

Lee glanced at the turtle and saw that the turtle was upset. He stumbled back. "But I wasn't going to use the Reverse version…" he tried to explain, "Really, I'm telling the truth…!"

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura were trying to figure out what was going on, and why Lee was so submissive to a tortoise. Naruto chuckled as Sakura turned toward him. She asked what was funny to which Naruto replied, "That's a turtle right?"

"Isn't it obvious just by looking?" Sakura yelled back.

"So that means that Sasuke was defeated by someone who was trained by a turtle, right?" Naruto asked with a grin.

* * *

Lee was not having a good day; right now he was trying to explain his actions. Too bad it wasn't going all that well.

"You fool!" the turtle yelled. "Did you think that excuse would work? You should know very well what it means for a ninja to expose his move."

"Sir." Lee responded.

* * *

Sasuke was not having a good day; first he was taken down a peg by Lee. Being shown that your fighting style is ineffective against that person is very discouraging. Second to see that same person now talking to a turtle. Well let's just say that he is not in a good mood.

He wiped the dirt from his face as he thought, 'I lost to these weird guys…?'

* * *

"Are you ready to face the consequences?" the turtle asked.

"Sir." Lee replied.

"Gai-sensei, please take care of the rest." The turtle said. A small explosion of smoke appeared on the turtle's back. When the smoke cleared, a man similarly dressed as Lee appeared.

"You guys are in the spring time of your life, aren't you!" Gai exclaimed.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura were stunned; here was a guy that looked exactly like Lee, with the exception of a Jounin jacket that he wore.

Naruto on the other hand went to the wall and started banging his head on it. He was trying to ignore what just happened. 'Why, why, why' that thought kept repeating in his head.

Sakura blurted out, "An even more unique guy came out!"

Naruto finally stopped and took a deep breath. He turned toward his group and walked back to them. 'I hate my life, why can't I have a simple life.'

"**YOU WOULD GET BORED AND ASK FOR A MORE EXCITING ONE."** The Kyuubi said with a chuckle.

'So you finally woke up, huh, you dumb old fox,' Naruto replied.

**"SHUT UP YOU STUPID BLONDE-HAIRED KIT!"** The Kyuubi responded.

Naruto shook his head as he joined his group. 'Whatever… so why are you up. Are you here enjoying my torture?' Naruto thought. He heard a chuckle from the Kyuubi, and decided to ignore it as he looked toward Gai and Lee.

* * *

"Hey, Lee." Gai said with a smile and a twinkle on his tooth.

* * *

Meanwhile Sakura was taking note of Gai, "Super unique, and super bobbed hair…"

Naruto moaned and continued, "And Super Eyebrows… They've grown since I last saw them."

Lee overheard the two conversing and a vein appeared on the back of his head. He was fed up with the observations. He turned around and yelled out while raising his enclosed right fist, "HEY! Don't make fun of Gai-sensei!"

"Cut it out, Lee," Gai said as he waved his hand trying to get Lee's attention.

Lee realizing what Gai was doing, immediately turned around. "Sir," he said.

Gai raised his right hand and yelled out, "You. Idiot!" Gai then proceed to punch Lee in the face.

Team Seven could not believe what they had just seen. They stood motionless as Lee fell to the ground. They watched as Gai walked toward Lee and knelt in front of Lee.

"Lee, you… you…" Gai said in a hoarse voice.

"S-sensei," Lee responded.

Suddenly, as if by magic a sunset background appeared beside Lee and Gai. Gai with tears flowing from his eyes, cried out, "Lee." To which Lee responded with tears, also, flowing down his face, "Sensei! I… I…"

"It's okay, Lee, don't say any more," Gai said. For a second, you could almost hear a cheesy saxophone playing in the background. Lee lunged toward Gai, "Sensei!" he cried as grabbed onto Gai. "Lee!" Gai responded. Then as if by magic a wave crashed sending a spray of water into the air.

Naruto had enough; he got down to the ground and started banging his head, HARD. And for once, he felt that the Kyuubi agreed with him. No one could be that cheesy… NO ONE! Right?

Meanwhile, Sasuke repeated the same thought he had before, 'I lost to that guy…'

Gai and Lee with tears still in their eyes were embracing each other as Gai spoke, "Yes, this is youth." The turtle was crying with them could only nod in affirmation, while Lee responded, "Sensei!"

Naruto was still banging his head when he said, "Can you believe that this situation is happening." Sasuke and Sakura could only shake their heads.

Gai finally let go of Lee. "It's okay, Lee," he said softly, "It's normal to make mistakes when you're young."

"You're too kind, Sensei," Lee responded. Gai then pointed toward the exit and said, "Now, run 100 laps at the training ground in the sunset!"

"Hai, sensei," Lee responded. They both looked out and as if by magic another sunset appeared, this time in front of the two. Both smiled and a twinkle appeared in each of their smiles.

"Let's go," Gai said.

"Sir!" Lee responded.

It was as the two were walking out that Naruto spoke, "Aren't you forgetting something?" The two turned toward Team Seven. Naruto stood up from the ground and pointed toward the clock, "The Chuunin Exam is about to start."

Gai looked stunned, "What? Oh, yeah…" He then coughed into his hand, and spoke, "Lee, I'm going to punish you for fighting and breaking a promise after the Exam, okay?"

Lee saluted, and said, "Hai!"

Gai went into a disco dance pose and said, "Do 500 laps!"

"Sir!" Lee responded.

Sasuke and Sakura was stunned, 'This can't be happening.' Ran though both their minds.

Gai looked up and saw Team Seven. 'They are Kakashi's…'

Sakura noticed that Gai was looking at them. She cried out in horror, "He's looking our way!"

"You three, is Kakashi-sensei doing well?" Gai asked.

Sasuke shook of the stunned look and replied, "You know Kakashi?"

"I don't just know him…" Gai said, then struck a thoughtful pose and chuckled. "People call us eternal rivals," he continued.

"That sounds so fake!" Sakura yelled.

Lee immediately went on the defense, "How rude! Gai-sensei is really…" He was interrupted by Gai, who said, "It's okay. Don't say it out loud. Show it in your attitude."

Sasuke and Sakura, then noticed that Gai disappeared, but before either could do anything Gai appeared behind them. Or he would have if Naruto was not paying attention. As soon as Gai appeared, he was caught by surprise as Naruto grabbed his belt and threw him toward Lee. Sasuke and Sakura just stared as Gai adjusted himself and landed on his feet.

"You have the spring time of youth," Gai exclaimed to Naruto. Gai then continued, "Lee caused you trouble, but please forgive him for the sake of my face. This refreshing face, that is. Lee and the three of you should get to the classroom soon." Gai then threw a kunai to remove the pinwheel, he was about to throw another kunai, when the kunai that was attached to the wrapping dislodged and flew toward Naruto's hand. 'That youth has skills.' Gai thought.

Meanwhile Naruto noticed that Sasuke was shaking, 'Probably realizing that there are people that are stronger than himself.' He then noticed Lee's hand as it was being wrapped, 'Those show signs of repeated wear, probably from his training. I wondered if Sasuke noticed.'

"Do your best, Lee!" Gai shouted, "Farewell!" Gai then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. After that, the turtle disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

After Lee was finish with his wrapping, he turned to Sasuke and said, "Sasuke-kun. Let me say this before I go. To be honest, I came here to test my skills. I lied a while ago. The strongest of the Konoha Genins is in my team. I entered this Exam to defeat him. And you are one of my targets, as well. Prepare yourself for the exam!" Lee then did a running leap to the second floor and ran off to the room.

Naruto knew that Sasuke was angry; he could feel the anger from Sasuke. 'I guess I better help him to focus or else, he may do something stupid.' "Looks like the Uchiha clan isn't all that great after all."

Sakura instantly became upset, and tried to shut Naruto up.

"Shut up." Sasuke responded. "Next time, I'll slaughter him."

'Whoa, too far, better make him realize that it may be harder for him,' Naruto thought. "You saw his hands, right?"

Sasuke stopped and remembered looking at Lee's hands. He looked up in amazement at what Naruto said.

"That fuzzy eyebrow guy must have trained a lot, every day… Trained more than you." Naruto said as he discretely watched Sasuke's reactions. "That's all there is to it." Naruto continued. He watched as Sasuke turned away from him.

After a while Sasuke spoke softly, "Good…" He then spoke louder to get the attention of Sakura and Naruto, "This is getting interesting… The Chuunin Exam, that is." Naruto and Sakura nodded. "Let's go, Naruto, Sakura." They then walked toward the stairs and when up to the third floor.

* * *

Author's Notes

* * *

First my apologies for not getting this out until now, I have been busy with getting my certifications done and did not have time to work on this as I should. So my apologies to the fans, I have enjoyed your comments, and your support.

Now for the stuff I have put into my story. Yes, I know that Kyuubi's demon jutsu appears to be that of Wolverine's claws from Marvel. And it is, but you have to admit if anyone saw those claws come out it can be very intimating.

I want to thank my pre-readers, they have done a great job catching my errors, and I hope you enjoy this new edition.

* * *

Next Episode: Chuunin exams are here. What is this… Nin Cards? Hmm… so many people here, I can't wait to see what they can do. But wait, what is this… NANI! A TEST, NO WAY!

Next time on Fist of Naruto: The Chuunin Exams begin, the First Round begins.


	9. Chapter 8

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul. 

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 8

The Chuunin Exam:

Test time

* * *

Team Seven was walking towards room 301, and as they approached, they noticed Kakashi standing in-front of the doorway. Kakashi waited until they got within 5 feet before he finally spoke. "I see, so Sakura came as well." 

This got Team Seven's attention, as they looked at Kakashi with puzzled faces.

"You can now officially register for the Chuunin Exam," Kakashi solemnly said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"To tell the truth, this exam can only be taken in teams of three," Kakashi explained.

"But you said that we could decide if we wanted to take it or not," Sakura said as she recalled what he told them when he handed out the admission slips.

Kakashi nodded and said, "Yeah, I did."

Sakura was stunned, "You lied."

Kakashi turned his head and looked out the window. "Yes. If I said that, Sasuke and Naruto would have forced you to take it. Even if you didn't want to take the exam, if Sasuke asked you, you would try to take the exam anyway. For Sasuke… and Naruto."

Meanwhile, Naruto rubbed his forehead. He already knew what Kakashi was telling Sasuke and Sakura, Ken-sama had told him the story last night during his party. What none of them knew was that the "Old Man" had told Naruto that if Sakura didn't show up then Naruto could take the exam with Sasuke alone. But Naruto told the "Old Man" that things would be okay. Sakura arriving to the school had proved that he was right.

Sakura looked at Kakashi and asked, "So what would have happened if only Sasuke-kun and Naruto came here?"

"I would have barred them from the exams and not allow them through these doors," Kakashi responded. "But the three of you came here of your own free will. Sakura. Naruto. And Sasuke. Well done." Kakashi smiled. "I'm proud of the three of you. You're my team." Kakashi stepped to the side. "Now go."

Sasuke and Sakura entered the room with Naruto trailing behind. Once they entered, they saw a vast number of Genin ninja teams.

* * *

'There's so many people. Are all these people taking the exam?' Sakura thought. 'They all seem so strong…' She swallowed trying to clear the lump in her throat.

"Sasuke-kun, you're late!" a voice cried out as a blond-haired female ninja jumped onto Sasuke. "I've been waiting for you ever since I heard that you were entering the Chuunin Exams. I haven't seen you in a long time!"

Sakura was angry as a vein on her forehead throbbed, as she pointed to the blonde and yelled, "Get away from Sasuke-kun! You, Ino-pig!"

Ino got off of Sasuke and said, "Oh my, it's you, forehead girl. Your forehead is still wide, and you're still ugly… as usual."

Sakura growled, "What did you say!"

Ino pulled down one of her eye and stuck her tongue out.

Before either could continue their argument, a voice called out, "What, are you three going to take this troublesome exam, too?"

Naruto smiled as he saw Shikamaru and Chouji, he greeted both and was about to continue when he heard Ino and Sakura bickering about Sasuke. 'Geeze, what is so special about this guy anyway?'

"Yeah! Found you all!" another voice said. "So I see that everyone is here."

Naruto looked as saw three more people arrive.

"Hello…" said Hinata.

Naruto turned towards her and saw her blush. 'What's wrong? Do I have something on me?' (A.N. Naruto is still clueless about women.)

"I see, so all nine Genin rookies this year are going to take the exam. How far do you think we can go, Sasuke-kun?" Kiba said

"You seem to be confident, Kiba," Sasuke said as Ino glared at him.

"We trained like hell. We won't lose to you." Kiba replied.

"Ohayo, it's nice to see you here, Naruto." Another voice said.

Naruto turned to see Haku and the twin brothers. "Oi, Haku, what are you doing here aren't you Chuunins?"

Haku shook her head, "No, we're still Genins. We are here to take the test."

Naruto nodded, "Okay, well best of luck to you, but try not to face me, okay?"

Haku chuckled as she nodded, "I don't want to face the 'True Heir' again."

Naruto chuckled, "I'm not the 'Heir' yet, besides, he said that I still have a long way to go."

Haku smiled, but before she could continue another voice called out. "Hey, you guys." The group turned to see a gray-haired ninja walking up to the group. "You should quieten down a little. So you're the nine rookies that just graduated from the academy, right? You're all fooling around with those cute faces… Geeze, this isn't a field trip."

Ino was upset, "Who are you to tell us that!"

"I am Yakushi Kabuto. Look around you…" Kabuto said as the group looked. "The ones behind you are from the Hidden Village of Rain. They have a short temper. Everyone is tense since it's right before the exam. I warned you so that you won't get picked on. I guess it can't be helped, though, since you are just rookies who don't know anything. It makes me think of the old me."

Sakura interrupted, "Kabuto-san, was it?"

"Yes" Kabuto replied.

"Is this your second time, then?" Sakura asked.

"No. It's my seventh. This exam takes place twice every year, and this is my fourth year." Kabuto answered.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he pretend to count to see if what Kabuto said was right, but on the inside he squashed the bad feeling he was getting from Kabuto. 'Something's not right… no one can fail seven times and be as cheerful as he is,' he thought.

Sakura asked another question, "That means that you know a lot about this exam, right?"

"Yes," Kabuto replied.

Naruto decided to keep his façade up and said, "So you must be an expert, Kabuto-san."

Shikamaru responded by saying, "But he hasn't passed it yet."

Naruto tuned out the rest of the conversation as he used his senses to gain a feel of the room. He knew that there were some powerful ninjas and some were angry, others were indifferent, but in all but two he felt the tension of waiting for the exam. 'Why not those two,' he thought. He then noticed that Kabuto had pulled out some kind of cards and spread them in his hand. He let go of his senses to focus on Kabuto once again.

"In simple terms, it's a card that has information burned into it using my Chakra," Kabuto said as he collected the cards and knelt down. "I've collected information on this exam for the past four years. There's about two hundred cards total." Kabuto reached for a card and flipped it over. "It looks white, but…" He placed his finger on the card. "To get the information from this card…" He rotated the card with his finger.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked.

"It's made so that you can't view it without my Chakra." Kabuto explained. "Like this," he said as he raised his left hand to his face and raised two fingers. A poof of smoke came from the card to reveal a mini-map of the world.

Naruto stopped listening after that as he studied the recognition card. He replayed the entire episode in his head. "Kabuto-san," Naruto said interrupting Kabuto's speech, "Could I look at a card?" Naruto waited until Kabuto gave him a card and raised it above his head. Using his senses, Naruto noticed that the card had two layers to it. The first seem to have information about the exam. But the second layer, which seemed to be tailored for some else's chakra had information about Konoha. Naruto continued to examine the card, he did not want to tip his hand, so he handed it back to Kabuto. He also promised himself that he would take the pack later and replace it. He marked the card with a minute amount of chakra so that he could find it later. He proceeded to hand it back to Kabuto to in time to hear Sasuke ask for information about individual people.

"Gaara of the Hidden Village of Sand, Rock Lee, and Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha," he said. Everyone was stunned about the last person that Sasuke had asked, except for one.

'I can't believe he wants information about me. He must really be really desperate to find out about my techniques,' Naruto thought, 'I just hope it does not have any information about the Kyuubi.'

"Oh, you know their names. Then it won't take that much time," Kabuto said, as he lifted the cards and with a quick swipe of his hand he took three cards from his deck. "Here we go."

"Show me." Sasuke said.

"First, let's see Rock Lee." Kabuto said as he performed his routine. "He's a year older than you. Mission experience, 20 D-rank ones, and 11 C-ranked ones. The squad leader is Gai. His hand-to-hand combat skills have increased dramatically this past year, but his other skills are terrible. He's got everyone's attention last year as a skilled rookie Genin, but he didn't take the Chuunin Exam. This is his first time taking it, like you. His team comprises of Tenten and Hyuuga Neji." Kabuto pulled the second card out. "Next, let's see Gaara of the Desert. Mission experience, eight C-rank ones, and… This is amazing. He did a B-ranked mission as a Genin. He is a foreign ninja and it's his first time taking the exam, so I don't have any more information on him. But… It seems that he returned from all his missions unharmed."

"He did a B-rank mission as a Genin, and was unharmed?" Shikamaru said in disbelief.

Before Kabuto could go onto Naruto, Sasuke stopped him. "I already know about Naruto, I was hoping to know more than what team, ability, and who the leader is."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He hoped that none of his "special" missions were on that card. It made him more determined to get all the cards from Kabuto. 'No one should have that much information.'

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Kakashi was still thinking about what Iruka had said, and how Gai had also warned them about being too eager. "Although I said that, maybe those fearless kids are scared now," he said.

* * *

Back in Room 301

* * *

Naruto could sense it, Sakura was scared, so were a few of the rookies. 'I can't let that happen. I need to get their minds off it.' Just then, he heard Sakura walk up. 

"Ne, Naruto. You don't need to be that scared…" she started, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Haku smiling at her. Haku motioned her to be quiet. At first, Sakura thought that Haku was mocking her, but before she could say something, Naruto decided to act.

Naruto raised his head and with a cocky fox-grin, pointed to the crowd of ninjas. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto!" he shouted, "I'm not going to lose to any of you! Remember me, because I will surpass ALL the Kages! Got that?"

* * *

Kakashi grinned as he heard Naruto's proclamation. He was so involved that failed to notice that he was not alone.

"He will do just that," a voice said softly.

Kakashi looked up to see the Hokage smiling back at him. He, then, notice a monk behind the Hokage.

"Naruto sure is rambunctious. Isn't he?" the Hokage said.

Kakashi smiled and nodded.

* * *

Back in Room 301

* * *

Naruto ignored the byplay of Ino and Sakura, as he signed and said, "That felt good." 

The other ninjas were not so thrilled, as Naruto heard some complain about him.

Haku smiled and giggled. 'Leave it to Naruto to get everyone to think that he is weak… Right up until he has the blade at their neck,' she thought. The two Demon Brothers were smiling and remembering how they too had the common opinion of Naruto being weak, and how Naruto quickly changed that thinking.

Naruto saw that three ninjas from the Sound Village were about to attack. He knew little about the village. So he decided to extend his senses and find out more about the team. He dodged Sakura's attempt to "teach" him a lesson by moving to the side and asked Chouji if he had an extra bag of chips. He did not have long to wait as two of the three charged towards Kabuto. Naruto watched as one threw his kunais at Kabuto, then the second one threw a punch at Kabuto. Naruto winced as he heard the sound that came from the gauntlet. 'So they use sound to affect their opponent,' he thought as he saw Kabuto dodge out of the way only to sense that the chakra had done it's damaged. Naruto bent down to Kabuto's side. He tried to help Kabuto up to his feet when he heard a voice call out to the group.

* * *

"Quiet down! You punks!" a voice shouted from a cloud that came from the front of the class. Everyone watched as the cloud dissipated to reveal a group of Chuunin ninjas. "Sorry to keep you waiting." The leader of the group said. "I am the examiner of the first test of the Chuunin Selection Exam, Morino Ibiki."

* * *

Naruto studied the group; he sensed that one of the ninjas did not have a heartbeat. 'Curious, unless…' Naruto deepened his senses, 'Hmm… a puppet? Ahhh, looks like Kankuro is a puppet master, interesting.'

* * *

Ibiki pointed to the Sound ninjas, "You three from the Hidden Village of Sound, don't think you can do anything you want before the exam. Do you want us to fail you, already?"

The bandaged Sound ninja turned to the examiners and said, "I'm sorry. I was excited, since this is my first exam."

Ibiki smirked and turned his head to the rest of the Genin. "This is a good chance to say this… You are not allowed to fight each other during the exam unless given permission by the examiners. Even if the permission is given, you are not allowed to kill each other. Pigs who go against me will fail immediately. Understand?"

* * *

Everyone stared at Ibiki, however, one of the Sound ninjas lowered his head and said, "This exam seems so soft and easy."

* * *

The examiners chuckled as Ibiki continued, "We will now begin the first exam of the Chuunin Selection Exam. Turn in your applications, take one of these number tags, and sit where the number tells you to sit. Then we will pass out the paper for the written exam."

Naruto paused, "Writte…? Paper…?"

"Paper…?"

Realization came to him as he quickly stood up in attention and yelled, "A PAPER TEST!"

He saw the examiners ruffle the test sheets in their hands, and he quickly turned to the closest wall and began to bang his head on it. 'Why does it have to be a written test?' he thought as he repeatedly banged his head on the wall. After a minute, Hinata came and asked Naruto to stop.

* * *

After everyone had settled down, and the paper test was handed out, Naruto looked around the room. 'I hate paper tests; I never can do well on them. Why can't it be verbal or fighting, I can handle that,' Naruto thought as he placed his hand on his chin.

"Naruto-kun?" a voice said.

This caused Naruto to turn to see. "Hinata? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Hinata blushed and looked at the table, she then turned to Naruto, "Let's do our best," she said.

Naruto smiled and nodded, "Sure." Before Naruto could say more, he was interrupted by Ibiki.

"This first exam has a few important rules. I will not accept any questions, so listen carefully. First rule is you all are given ten points at the start. The written exam consists of ten questions, and each is worth one point. This test is a deduction-based test. If you get one question wrong, you will get one point deducted. If you get three questions wrong, your points will be reduced to seven. Second rule, the pass-fail decision will be determined by your team's total points."

* * *

This caused quite a stir among the Genin, none was more visible than Sakura, who had banged her head on the desk. "Wait!" she cried, "Your team's total points? What!"

* * *

"Shut up!" Ibiki said, "There is a reason for this. Just shut up and listen. Now that you know let's move on to the next rule. If an examiner determines that you cheated or do something similar during the test… Each action will cause you to lose two points."

"What?" a ninja cried.

"Oh!" Sakura said.

"In other words, there will be people who will be forced to leave this place without their tests being graded." Ibiki continued, "Those who try to cheat without thinking carefully will only hurt themselves."

"We'll "check" you at any time." An examiner said.

"You are all trying to become Chuunins. If you are a ninja, act like a first-rate one. Also, if anyone in a team gets a zero, everyone on that team will fail."

* * *

This got Sasuke and Sakura's attention, as they thought that they could breeze by even with Naruto getting a zero.

"What did you say!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto suddenly felt a distinct wave of killer intent, 'It looks like the other two wish to kill me. Well, I guess it is because they know I don't do well on tests.'

* * *

"The last problem will be given 45 minutes after the exam begins. You have one hour for the exam." Ibiki said as he watched the clock reach 3:30. "BEGIN!" He yelled.

'Didn't Kabuto-san say there were only 150 ninjas that were taking the exam? Why are there 152… They must have place the two when everyone was looking at the examiners. Sneaky, I like that. Now should I complete the exam or not? Lets see.'

"The first question is… a cipher. Okay, the second question is… The parabolic B, represents a shuriken's maximum throwing distance of the enemy ninja, A, a height of 7 meters. Figure out the traits of the enemy ninja that can be observed from the ellipse formed by the shuriken, and figure out the maximum throwing distance on a flat ground. Explain your reasoning. What?" Naruto said. 'These are all questions that no Genin could answer, what are they pla… Of course the rules, those who cheat without thinking clearly carefully, he wants us to cheat. Hmmm, why? Of course, this isn't about getting passing the test it's about gathering information. Well I guess I could do that but…' Naruto thought. 'Where's the fun in that? Oi, Kyuubi, think of any cool ideas that I could do for this test?'

**"BOUT TIME YOU ASKED ME… HMMMM, WHAT CAN WE DO? HOW ABOUT…"** the Kyuubi said. The rest were whispers that Naruto began nodding as he agreed with the Kyuubi. He quickly began moving his pencil making erratic marks on the paper. Once he was done, he quickly used the eraser and removed the marks before anyone else could see it.

* * *

Hinata was looking at Naruto she noticed that he did not answer any of his questions, and that he seem to have that "cute" thinking pose that she love to watch. 'Naru…' she thought as she finished the last of her questions. "Naruto-kun," she said. She waited until Naruto turned toward her and blushed. "I will show you my… test." She saw the intrigued look on Naruto's face.

"Hinata," Naruto said, "let me ask one thing. Why are you showing me the answers?"

Hinata shook and said, "Well… I…" She swallowed and turned her head to Naruto, "I don't want you to fail at a place like this." She saw his curious face and became nervous and began to make an excuse, "You know, the nine of us are the only rookies, and there will be uncertainties in the future, so…"

Naruto chuckled, "I see… I doubted you for no reason. Forgive me, Hinata-chan."

Hinata was stunned, 'He called me Hinata-chan!'

But before Naruto could turn his head and continue a kunai went flying towards him. He unconsciously grabbed it from mid-air with two fingers and looked to its origin… only to see a stunned examiner. Naruto chuckled and flipped the kunai behind him, hitting the test of the person behind him.

* * *

This caused a ruckus with all the Genins. As the Genins finally noticed that a kunai was thrown. They stopped and looked stunned at the kunai that interrupted their test. As the Genin who had the kunai on his test stood up and said, "What is the meaning of this?"

The examiner quickly composed himself and said, "You screwed up five times, you fail."

"What?" the Genin said.

"Teammates of his, get out of here!" the examiner continued.

Once the team left, others began to leave too, however, this did not concern Ibiki. 'How did he know that he was not the receiver of the kunai, and how did he catch it?'

* * *

Hinata was amazed; she could not believe what she saw. Naruto had caught the kunai and sent it to the proper person. Not even she had notice the kunai until Naruto caught it. She found herself thinking more about how amazing Naruto was. In the short time he had been in school, she found him to be interesting, she had seen him constantly push himself in practice, and would goof off when in class. She never could understand why people were so harsh to him. After all, Naruto was a caring individual, who was cute too. She caught herself in that thought and began to blush.

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto was chuckling to himself as he counted the teams that were being eliminated. He knew that if he kept a cool head he could prevail.

Hinata finally brought him out of his trance by saying, "Naruto-kun, hurry look."

Naruto chuckled and said, "Hinata-chan." He waited until Hinata looked at him. "You don't understand, do you?" He looked at her with a smile on his face and said, "A great ninja like myself does not need to cheat." He heard her try to convince him otherwise, but he continued, "Also, you might get into trouble for aiding in the cheating, and I wouldn't want that."

Hinata was stunned; she could not believe that Naruto was so caring toward her. She blushed even more. "I'm sorry, I did something unnecessary," she said

Naruto chuckled, "Don't worry about it." He watched as others were eliminated and subtly extended his senses to 'see' how everyone else was doing. He noticed all of the cheating and was impressed by the variety of attempts. He focused on Gaara, knowing that he would use Shukaku's power. Naruto continued his watch until Ibiki got his attention.

* * *

A few minutes before

* * *

Ibiki had shaken off his thoughts about Naruto and looked at the room. 'Looks like we've already dropped the incompetent ones. I will give the problem, since 45 minutes have already passed.' "Okay," Ibiki cried out getting everyone's attention. "I will now give the tenth problem! Yes, but before that, there's one thing I must say… There will be one special rule for this last question." 

Just then the door open to reveal Kankuro.

Ibiki chuckled, "You're lucky. Your puppet show didn't have to go to waste."

'He knows about Karasu…!' Kankuro thought.

"Oh well, sit down." Ibiki said. He waited until Kankuro was sitting at his test, and then continued, "I will now explain. This is… a hopeless rule."

* * *

Meanwhile in one of the Hokage'swaiting rooms

* * *

Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma were sitting in the lounge, waiting to hear if their team passed the first exam. 

"Now that our subordinates are gone, it sure is boring," Kakashi said.

"We'll get busy soon," Asuma responded.

Both Kurenai and Kakashi looked at Asuma. "Why?" Kakashi asked.

Asuma dusted his cigarette, and replied, "This year's first Examiner is Morino Ibiki."

This got Kakashi's attention. 'It looks like the First Exam is going to be a little difficult.' "They had to choose that sadist?" Kakashi said as he leaned back on the couch.

"Sadist?" Kurenai asked, not knowing who this Morino Ibiki was.

"Kurenai, you're still a rookie Jounin, so it's no wonder if you don't know," Asuma said.

Kurenai was intrigued, "So who is he?"

Kakashi tilted his head up and said, "A pro. A pro."

"A pro? A pro at?" Kurenai said pointedly.

Asuma took a dragged of his cigarette, "Torture and interrogation."

Kurenai was stunned, "What?"

Asuma continued, "Although there will be no physical torturing in the exam… I'm sure the students are feeling some mental stress through his interrogation skills. He is… Konoha ANBU's torture and interrogation squad leader, Morino Ibiki."

* * *

Back at the classroom

* * *

'A hopeless rule?' Naruto thought as he prepared himself for the question. 

"First, you are all going to choose if you wish to take this tenth question or not." Ibiki said.

All the Genins were curious about this statement. All save Naruto, who was curious to why Ibiki chose now to give such a statement.

Temari could not believe her ears, "Choose? So what happens if we don't take the tenth problem?"

"If you choose not to take it, your points will be reduced to zero. In other words, you fail. Your two other teammates will fail along with you." Ibiki responded.

This caused more of a stir as a ninja said, "What is the meaning of this? Of course we're going to choose to take it! Teammates also failing is bull!" Naruto however was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Ibiki continued, "And here is the other rule. If you choose to take it and you get it wrong, you will… Lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exam forever."

Everyone was stunned. No one could believe what Ibiki had just said. Kiba though was upset as he stood up and pointed to Ibiki. "What kind of dumb rule is that! There should be those here that have taken the Chuunin Exam in the past!"

Ibiki chuckled, "You were unlucky. This year, I am the rule. That is why I gave you the option of quitting. Those who are not confident can choose to not take it, and take the exam next year, or the year after that." Ibiki then started laughing as he thought of how this was playing out in the minds of the Genin, until he noticed Naruto. Naruto had his right hand propped under his chin, with a bored expression on it. Ibiki couldn't understand it, why was he the only one that seemed unaffected by his speech. Ibiki became serious, "Let us begin. Those who will not be taking this tenth question, raise your hand. After we confirm your numbers, we will have you leave."

* * *

Sakura was watching Naruto; she could not believe what was happening. She was confident in her ability to answer the question. However, she worried about Naruto. 'Naruto! Why are you not raising your hand? He…' she thought as she remembered all the times that Naruto bragged about surpassing the Kages. 'You always say "Kages, Kages" like an idiot… I'm sorry, Naruto. It looks like I want to save your unrealistic dream,' she thought as she began raising her hand. Only to stop… There in front of her, Naruto slowly raised his hand, making it look as if he was ready to call it in. He waited for Ibiki to notice him, and held his head low so no one could see his face.

* * *

In the Hokage's seeing room

* * *

Sarutobi watched as Naruto raised his hand. He turned to Ken. "What is he doing? He can't be seriously considering?" 

Ken chuckled, "Why don't we wait and see."

* * *

Meanwhile in the Hokage's tower room

* * *

Asuma was telling Kurenai more about Ibiki, "He… Ibiki understands human psychology. And the scariest part about him is that he can drive a person to a corner mentally, control his mind, and bully him. He can find a person's weakness, and bring it to the surface."

* * *

Back in the classroom

* * *

SLAM!

Naruto had dropped his hand with such force on the table; it caused the ends to rise up. "Screw you! I'm not going to run away!" he said forcefully. "I'll take this problem! Even if I stay a Genin forever, I'm going to become to surpass all the Kages, no matter what!" He then stood up, and with authority declared, "I'm not scared!" He then sat down with his arms crossed, 'That should take care of Sakura's insecurity,' he thought.

Ibiki stared at Naruto; he could not believe what he just saw. He was sure that Naruto would have run after he saw the hand go up. 'Oh well, better try to get some of the others to leave.' "I will ask one more time. This is the choice that will impact your life. If you want to quit, now is the chance."

Naruto smiled and with a calm voice said, "I'm not going to take back my words. That is my Nindo."

* * *

In the Hokage's seeing room

* * *

"Told you," Ken said with pride. 

Sarutobi smirked and scoffed, "What a leader he is. He knew that Sakura was about to crack and helped strengthen her by raising his had first. And the speech, Arashi would have been proud."

Ken nodded, "Yes, he truly is worthy to be 'The Heir'."

Sarutobi smiled, "That's if I don't get him first."

They both laughed as they watched the scry globe

* * *

Back in the classroom

* * *

Ibiki watched as others began smiling after Naruto's speech. 'Interesting kid. He wiped out everyone's uncertainty.' Ibiki stepped forward and counted. '84 Genins, eh? There's more left than I expected. Looks like there's no point in waiting any longer.' He ran his eyes to each of the examiners, and saw them silently nod their approval. He did the same and turned to the Genins. "Nice determination," he said, "Then… For the First Exam, everyone here… Passes!"

* * *

The Genins were stunned; they could not believed what was happening. As they scrambled to get answers, Naruto leaned back and turned to Hinata. When he saw Hinata look back, he gave a thumb's up and smiled. "We did it Hinata-chan!" He listened as Ibiki explained the reasons behind the test. Naruto noticed that something was coming toward the classroom. He remained silent but put one hand on his scimitar just in case.

* * *

"You have broken through the entrance." Ibiki said. "The First Exam of the Chuunin Selection ends now. I wish you luck."

Just then a ball burst through the window, Naruto was about to grab his scimitar, when he realized that he didn't feel any danger coming from the ball. 'Hmmm. Looks like there is some one who is as flamboyant as I act,' he thought as the ball unravel.

Just then two kunais were flung to the ceiling. The ball revealed to be a banner, and as it unfolded, it revealed a kunoichi.

'Geez, she's…' Ibiki thought as he heard Anko begin her speech.

"Everybody, there's no time to be happy." Anko said as the banner behind her read. Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko is here. "I am the Second Examiner, Mitarashi Anko. Let's go to the next exam!" she said. She then raised her right arm and yelled, "Follow me!"

Everyone was stunned, they did not know how to react to the new examiner. Ibiki peaked out the side of the banner and said, "Grasp the atmosphere."

Anko sweatdropped. She then counted the group. "84? Ibiki, you let 28 teams pass? The First Exam must have been too soft." She said as she looked at Ibiki.

"It looks like there are a lot of excellent students this time." Ibiki replied.

Anko turned to the group. "Oh well… I'm going to make more than half of the teams fail in the next exam." She said much to the chagrin of the Genins. "I'm getting excited. I will explain the details tomorrow. We will go somewhere else, so ask your Jounin teachers for the rally point and time. That is all. Dismissed." The Genins quickly left the room.

* * *

Later

* * *

Ibiki was gathering the tests when he came across Naruto's test. He picked it up and studied it. In each of the answer spaces not a single word was written. His left hand tightened around the test that he gathered. He started to laugh, 'someone actually passed with a blank test paper. Uzumaki Naruto, eh? He really is an interesting guy.' He was about to place the paper into his pile when he noticed something to the side of the test. He quickly grabbed a pencil and began shading the area. Once he was done, he looked at the message that Naruto left.

* * *

Hey Grumpy. Next time you send fakes make sure that there are at least three, and that they wear the same symbol. They threw off my counting. Okay? Good!

Sincerely,

Naruto

* * *

Ibiki chuckled, "I didn't even think about that. What an interesting person you are Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Naruto sneezed into his bowl as Ken, Haku, and Iruka smiled. He quickly rubbed his nose. "Some one must be talking about me," he said as he continued to eat his Ramen.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Hello all I recently got a question that I wanted to answer.

(The author suddenly appears in scholarly robes and has a black board behind him.)

The question was why would Naruto use hand seals for the "Shuushin no Jutsu" since the Jutsu does not need any hand seals. Answer: The reason was that ninjas always hide things, remember look under the underneath. Arashi did not create the Jutsu because in my fic, using 100 of the body's natural talent causes a person to become ultra fast. Example Kenshiro's Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken, is a "hundred" punches in the span of four to five seconds. If a person's can go as fast as they can and only use 30 (this includes ninjas) imagine what they can do with 100 of their power. Now this does not include chakra, which can cause a jump to 2 or 3 times more. This means that Naruto and Arashi both are faking the seals, and using their natural speed. I hope this answers your question. And I hope you enjoy the next chapter

* * *

Next time on Fist of Naruto: Wooo! I pass the test, I pass the test. Wah, another exam? WHERE? THE FOREST OF DEATH! What who is this guy and why does he smell slithery? 

Next episode: The Chuunin Exam: Part 2 – Enter the Forest of Death. Naruto Vs. Orochimaru


	10. Chapter 9

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

Author's notes: My apologies to everyone, I am sorry for not being able to get this chapter out to you so quickly, but I have been looking for a new job, and that caused me to stall on all my other projects. Thank you for your patience.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 9

The Chuunin Exam:

The Second Exam

* * *

Naruto walked toward the Second Exam, he was mentally preparing himself for this next exam. All that he knew was that he was going to a training ground but he did not know what to expect. As he approached the training ground he saw a group of people standing there. As he got closer, he noticed the chain, lock and seal on the door. "What is this place," he said as he looked at the forbidden area sign.

"This is where the Second Chuunin Exam will take place." Anko said. "The 44th training area… Also known as the Forest of Death."

"The Forest of Death?" Naruto repeated. 'Where do they come up with these names?' he thought as he noticed a rectangle box moving behind him. 'Are they trying to be a rock? And pretending to be one on grass?' He slowly walked away, only to see that they were following him. He slowly went faster and faster, as he went in circles to see how far the group was going to go. Finally after a couple of laps, he did a quick turn and saw the box quickly stop behind him. "Oy, Konohamaru. What are you doing here?"

A voice came from the box, "I should have expected that from the man I look up to. Good job detecting me." Suddenly the box began glowing brightly and suddenly exploded in a big cloud of smoke. Once the smoke cleared there knelt three kids coughing. "Hey, you used too much gunpowder." The group then noticed that everyone was staring at them.

"The one who possesses the sex appeal of an adult, and the female ninja from the senior group, Moegi."

"The one who loves dividing numbers, Udon."

"This village's number one genius ninja, Konohamaru!"

"The three of us make…"

"The Konohamaru Corps!"

**"HEHEHE, WHO SAID COMEDY IS DEAD. HEHEHEHE"** Kyuubi said.

Naruto ignored the Kyuubi, as he tried to figure out what the Konohamaru Corps was doing here. 'I know it's not to play, and they know how serious this exam is, so that leaves… ah ha, a newspaper story. Well let's see if I am right.' "What do you three want? I'm about to take the Second Exam for the Chuunin Selection Exam. I don't have time to play with you," Naruto said.

"We didn't come here to play!" Konohamaru said.

"Yeah, we came here on a story," Moegi responded.

"Yes, yes," Udon said in agreement.

"A story?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, we were asked to do an exclusive story on the Chuunin Selection Exam for our school newspaper." Konohamaru responded.

"So can we ask you some questions? Please, cooperate," Moegi said.

"Please," Udon repeated as he bowed to Naruto.

"But…" Naruto said as he tried to think of an excuse.

"Hey there! What are you doing!" Anko said as she walked toward Naruto and the Konohamaru Corps.

Naruto looked up at Anko and said, "Konohamaru wants to do an exclusive for his school newspaper or something."

"Oh," Anko said, as she looked stunned for a moment. She then put her right hand in back of her head in embarrassment as she said, "Yes, I forgot that Hokage-sama mentioned something like that."

Naruto sweatdropped. 'You forgot?' he thought.

"All right, we're going to have a 10 minute break now. If you are asked any questions just concede and cooperate quietly." Anko yelled.

"What the…?" Naruto said confused. He quickly shook his head and smiled at Konohamaru. "This is your chance, you can find out about other countries now," he said.

Konohamaru looked confused, "But what about you?"

Naruto smiled, "You already know about me, Konohamaru. Got talk to the ninjas from other countries. Ask them what it's like in their country, what are their customs, and how they like being here. This will give you a better understanding of the world outside of Konoha."

The Corps nodded and dispersed into the crowd. "Well done," Anko said. "This will give them a better understanding of the world around them."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I learned that lesson, when I was traveling with Ken-sama." Naruto walked to a shaded corner, and sat down. 'Oy, Chibi-Kyu,' He thought as he went into his mind.

"**DAMNIT KIT, STOP CALLING ME THAT!"** The Kyuubi yelled. **"WHAT DO YOU WANT, ANYWAY?"**

'Well since we have a few minutes, I thought you could show me a good jutsu while we wait.' Naruto thought.

"**HMMM… YOU DO HAVE A POINT, OKAY. HERE IS A JUTSU YOU CAN USE WHEN YOU FIND THAT YOU NEED TO GIVE YOURSELF SOME SPACE. ITS CALLED BUSHIN DAIBAKUHA NO JUTSU. YOU CREATE A KAGE BUSHIN AND THEN LET IT EXPLODE, DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF CHAKRA YOU GIVE THE CLONE YOU CAN CAUSE A SMALL TO LARGE EXPLOSION, WHICH CAN INJURE OR KILL THOSE CAUGHT IN THE BLAST. HERE ARE THE SEALS FOR IT."** The Kyuubi said as it began teaching Naruto the jutsu.

To the outside world it looked like Naruto was asleep, which caused some constraint to his teammates, who could not believe that Naruto would sleep at a time like this.

* * *

Later

* * *

After the Konohamaru Corps had finished their interviews, everyone once again stood in front of the Forest of Death. "This sure is a creepy place," Sakura said.

Anko chuckled, "You will be able to experience why this place is called the Forest of Death."

Naruto raised his eyebrow 'She makes it sooo easy.' He quickly created a clone, and sent it to do some insulting. The clone closed his eyes and blew air through his nose, hard. It then got into a "girly" pose, and repeated what Anko said while shaking his bottom side to side. "There's no point in trying to scare us like that! I'm not scared at all!" Naruto's clone exclaimed.

Anko was not impressed "Really? You sure are energetic." She quickly pulled out a kunai and threw it to the clone. Naruto to allow Anko to hit the clone, he watched as the kunai hit the clone and continue past it to cut the hair of another Genin. He watched as Anko went behind the clone. "Boys like you die the fastest." Anko said. He watched as Anko slowly grabbed the clone's head and began wiped the blood from the clone's face. "After spilling out the red blood I love all over the place," Anko said. Before she could continue the other Genin appeared behind her, she quickly pulled out her kunai as she saw the tongue hold the kunai.

"Here's your knife," the Genin said.

"Thank you." Anko replied. "But don't stand behind me like that. That is, unless you want to die young." She then grabbed the kunai from the tongue.

"Well, I got itchy when I see blood," the Genin said. "Also, my precious hair got cut, so I got excited."

But before either could continue, the clone disappeared, which caused both ninjas to look at the smoke. "If that's true then I think you both need therapy. Or at least a better excuse to why your quirky," a voice said beside them. They turned to see Naruto smile at them with his blades held parallel to his arms with the curved blade jutting out toward them. "I hope you don't mind I decided to let you play with each other, if you want to continue, there is a love hotel not far from here. I am sure they can accommodate your needs," Naruto said with a smile. He then pointed to Anko, "Or at least you could inspect that tongue of his more closely?"

Both Anko and the Genin were stunned. They both thought that Naruto was the clone and to see it disappear and then having him suddenly appear beside them was startling. Anko quickly shook it off, although the thought of the tongue and Naruto's comment made her blush, slightly. The Genin was shocked as to what Naruto had said and quickly move away.

Anko went back to the front of the group. "Before we begin the Second Exam, I'm going to pass these out to everyone," she said as she pulled out a stack of papers from her hand. Everyone saw that the papers were consent forms. "These are consent forms. Those taking this exam must sign these. The reason is from here on, people will die. Therefore we need people's consent before we continue. Otherwise, I'd be held responsible," Anko said, she then laughed out loud. "Now, I will begin the explanation of the Second Exam. To be concise, you will all go through an extreme survival match," she said as she handed the form out to a Genin who passed them out to the others.

Naruto listen to the information given about the training ground, and heard everyone's comments on the exam. After all the comments, he continued to listen to Anko give the rules to the contest. He took his consent form, he already knew the reason for the consent form, and so he decided to wait until they called his group up. Once there he took the Earth scroll and put it into his pouch. 'I think I should make a copy of it so that if we lose it, we won't lose it,' Naruto thought.

**"NICE GOING KIT. THAT'S USING YOUR BRAIN,"** the Kyuubi said.

Naruto walked behind his group and quickly made some seals to change an explosive note to the scroll. Team Seven followed a ninja to the appointed point. Naruto sat down and waited for the door to open.

Once the gates opened, Naruto followed his team and extended his senses to give him an early warning to danger. He watched as Sasuke and Sakura turned when they heard someone scream. "It looks like someone has already been eliminated," Naruto said. Sasuke nodded, while Sakura shivered. Naruto sensed someone watching them. So he quickly went to a tree, "I need to pee," Naruto said.

"You idiot!" She screamed as she hit Naruto in the back of his head. "What are you trying to do in front of a lady!" She pointed to another tree, "Go behind the tree," she stated.

Naruto did as he was told, but as soon as he was away from the group he created a clone and went underground. He watched as his clone was caught and searched. He waited to see if the Genin had brought anyone else. When he saw that the Genin was alone. He would allow the Genin face Sasuke and Sakura. 'This will be a great time to let them know how bad it can get during this exam. He watched as Sasuke saw through the disguise, which was easy considering the Genin had the pouch on the wrong side. Naruto dispersed the clone and waited until the right time appeared. He watched as Sasuke made the first move as he attacked the Genin from behind. Sasuke then pointed out that the Genin's flaw in creating Naruto. Naruto watched as Sasuke attacked the Genin one of Uchiha's fire technique, the Katon Housenka no Jutsu.

'Interesting technique, using it to get some breathing room to allow a ninja some time to use other methods of attack.' Naruto thought. He watched the fight escalate into a kunai fight, only to have the Genin attempt to lead Sasuke to another area. 'Probably to get some support. I can't allow that to happen,' he thought as he prepared himself.

Causing a ground eruption to occur in front of the Genin, he used the force of the eruption to send the Genin back to Sasuke. He watched as Sasuke was heading toward the Genin, who had his back turned away from Sasuke. He knew that Sasuke would try something to end the fight with a spectacular move. So he wasn't disappointed when he saw Sasuke take down the Genin by plunging a kunai into the Genin. The Genin cursed himself as he quickly left.

"Damn," Sasuke said. "I was hoping to get their scroll."

"HEY!" Naruto yelled. "There is no I in team, and beside there are more than just you in this group." Once he saw Sasuke back down, he heard Sakura yell at Naruto about losing a chance at a scroll. Naruto ignored the comment, and decided to leave the scroll he took from the Genin a secret. 'This way it will help they train and learn how to survive in the wilderness,' he thought.

* * *

After the fight

In a small clearing

* * *

Team Seven was gathered in a circle. As they sat down both Naruto and Sasuke notice that there was some one close. Before Naruto could get the person Sasuke spoke.

"If the three of us gets separated, don't trust anyone even if they looks like one of us. There's a possibility that an enemy will transform into one of us and approach us."

Naruto nodded, while Sakura responded, "So, what should we do?"

"Let's decide on a password," Sasuke said.

"Password?" Naruto asked. 'Why is he doing this, it will give away our ability to find out who is the real person?'

"If a different password is given, assume that they're the enemy no matter what they look like, got it?" Sasuke said. "I'm only going to say this once, so listen carefully. First, you will ask, "The ninja song 'Ninka?'" The answer is the following… It is a good chance when a large number of enemies are making a scene. There are no hideouts even in a quiet place. It is important for a ninja to know the right time. The time when the enemy is tired, and has his guard down. That's it"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. 'He knows I won't say all that, he's baiting the spy. Cool, better play along.' "Can you say it one more time?"

"Huh?" Sakura asked.

"I said I'm only going to say it once," Sasuke responded.

"Could you not remember it all?" Sakura asked. "You're stupid. I memorized it right away."

"I remembered it perfectly, too!" Naruto yelled back. "I just wanted to be sure by hearing it one more time…"

"I'll keep the scroll." Sasuke said.

Naruto raised his eyebrow and handed the fake scroll to Sasuke. As soon as Naruto had finished handing the scroll to Sasuke, his hand shot up and caught a senbon needle. The others stared at what Naruto had done, only to have their eyes bug out even more as Naruto sent the senbon needle back to its origin. Naruto, himself, did not even recognize what he had done, and looked at his group. Seeing they're bugged out expressions, he asked, "What?"

Unfortunately, a howl came from their side. The howl became louder, suddenly a blast of air hit Team Seven. "A new enemy?" Sasuke asked as the air rushed by them.

Naruto was hit by the blast, usually it would not have done a thing save give a refreshing breeze to him, but with the chakra enforcing the blast, it lifted Naruto off the ground and into the air. Naruto attempted to stop himself from flying but to no avail. Eventually the blast ended and Naruto was able to land safely with his head bowed. "Man, who would have thought that there was a blast of air that was strong enough to move me?" Naruto said as he shook his head. "Yosh, here we go." He looked up to see a giant snake looking back at him; he then raised an eyebrow. "It's never easy," Naruto said as the snake attacked. Naruto jump upwards as the snake landed where he once was. "Nanto Senshu Ryu Geki!" Naruto cried as his hand disappeared in a haze of movement. The result was devastating as Naruto's hand pierced into the snake's head. Naruto continued to push until his forearm disappeared into the snake's head, then with a quick jerk, Naruto ripped his hand away from the snake, pulling out a chunk of gray matter. The snake landed on the ground with a thud. Naruto took a look at his hand, and pulled out a towel from his pouch. "It's never easy," he said as he wiped his arm. Once he was done, he closed his eyes and searched for the rest of his team. Once he located them, he ran toward their location.

Naruto came upon an interesting sight; a man had somehow wrapped his body around a tree like a snake and was facing Sasuke. Naruto quickly create a Kage Bushin and let it throw several stars and kunais in front of the snake man while he threw three kunais. Once close to the snake man, one behind Sakura, and the other toward the tower in the middle of the forest. He cloaked his chakra and let the clone speak. "Sorry Sasuke. I forgot the password."

Sasuke could not believe that Naruto had finally shown up. He quickly responded, "Naruto, you may have come here to show off by helping us, but don't get involved! Run! He's way above our level!"

"Looks like you defeated that big snake, Naruto-kun." The other ninja said.

Naruto's clone raised an eyebrow. Meanwhile Naruto was sending other transformed Kage Bushins to surround the group. 'If what Sasuke and the ninja said is true, then that would explain who sent the snake, and who he truly is.'

Meanwhile, Sasuke was trying to figure out what he could do. He cursed his luck and thought back to all the times where Naruto's arrival had caused "bad things" to happen. He, however, conveniently forgot the times that Naruto helped out the team.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! Looks like you were picking on the weak, eh. Now that I, the great Uzumaki Naruto, am here, I'm going to beat you to a pulp!" the clone said.

'Crap!' Sasuke thought, 'All three of us are going to get killed at this rate! What should I do?'

'Sasuke-kun.' Sakura thought.

'Shit… This is the only way I know of…' Sasuke thought as he dismissed his Sharingan. "Wait." He cried. "I'll give you the scroll. Please, take this, and leave us in peace." The rest of Team Seven was shocked that he would say that. "Take it," Sasuke said as he threw the scroll to the other ninja. But before it could reach the ninja it disappeared.

Everyone watched as Naruto rebound off another tree and land next to Sasuke. But before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto grabbed Sasuke and threw him toward Sakura. Naruto turned to the other ninja.

Sasuke recovered from the throw, and yelled at Naruto, "Why you… Why did you do that?"

Naruto ignored Sasuke. He looked at the other ninja. "You know I heard a rumor about a man that could summon snakes."

The other ninja raised his eyebrow, "Oh, what did you hear."

"I was told that if I ever met that man to say two things to him," Naruto said, "Orochimaru."

The rest of Team Seven gasped as they heard that name. They, too, have heard about the Snake Sannin.

The other ninja chuckled. "So you know who I am… it won't help you at all." Orochimaru was about to lunge at Naruto, when he heard Naruto yell.

"WAIT! As I was saying before I was interrupted. There were two thing that needed to be said." Naruto said with his hand raised in a stop position.

"And what is that?" Orochimaru asked.

Naruto grinned, "First, stop staring at my young ass, you fruitcake!"

This caused everyone save Naruto to hit the ground in stunned amazement as a crow passed overhead cawing out. But before any of them could respond to Naruto's comment, Naruto continued. "Second," Naruto said with a smile. "Whatever you had planned for us, kiss it good bye fruit cake." He then turned his eyes toward his teammates.

Orochimaru followed it, and widened his eyes in amazement as Naruto suddenly appeared behind the rest of Team Seven, in a bright yellow flash. Orochimaru watched as Naruto grabbed the two and flashed again. "NOOO!" he cried as he turned toward the clone.

"Boom." The clone said as the kunai that was next to Orochimaru ignited and exploded.

Orochimaru barely escaped the explosion, but before he could act. He found that he could not move. He quickly looked at his arms, to see several Narutos grabbing his arms and body.

"Normally, I would have just ran away, but I figured that you would follow me. Therefore, I needed to make sure that you wouldn't. I know this won't kill you but it will slow you down," The clone said with a smile. "If you want the scroll so bad… Take it." The clone pulled out the scroll and tossed it to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru widened his eyes as the scroll transformed into another Naruto. He then heard all the clones, "Bushin Diakuha no Jutsu!"

**KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The explosion rocked the entire forest. Everyone felt the explosion as the dust cloud lingered in the air. As it dissipated, they wondered what could have caused such an explosion.

Meanwhile, Team Seven was miles away from the site. Sasuke and Sakura could not believe what had just happened. One moment they were looking at one of the most feared missing Nins, the next they were on the ground at a completely different area. What was more confusing was the explosion that sent the entire team to the ground. 'What could cause that explosion?' Sasuke and Sakura thought. They then turned toward Naruto, only to see him collapse. "Naruto!" they cried as they went to him.

Naruto opened his eyes, "Chakra exhaustion," he said as he went to sleep.

Sasuke and Sakura quickly found a hiding place to rest. 'What happened? How did we get here?' they thought as questions about what had recently happened plagued their minds.

Orochimaru was pissed. He was able to escape the blast, but not without some injuries. His entire body was badly burned, his right arm was broken, his left leg was limping, but that wasn't even the worst part. Uzumaki Naruto, a nobody, a dobe, came close to defeating him. That thought angered him the most. But as he replayed the fight, his eyes widen when he realized what he had seen. The Hirashin no Jutsu, the only jutsu that no one could copy, a jutsu so powerful that it gave that damnable Arashi is nickname, 'The Yellow Flash.' Orochimaru took a deep painful breath. 'If Naruto could use that jutsu, then that means that he is… Damnit, I thought I got rid of Arashi and his line.' Orochimaru continued to brood as he began to heal himself. 'I need a new plan, if Naruto is Arashi's son… then things have become complicated.'

Sakura and Sasuke were watching over Naruto, ever since he "transported" them to their current location. From what Sasuke had seen when he scouted, it was close to the center of the Forest. They both had questions for Naruto to answer when he would awaken.

* * *

Meanwhile in Naruto's Mind

* * *

Naruto awoke to see that he was in front of a large cage. As he turned he saw a vast emptiness surrounding both him and the cage.

"Damnit what happened?" Naruto shouted.

**"YOU IDIOT!"** The Kyuubi exclaimed, as Naruto turned back toward the cage.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. It was the first time in long time that the Kyuubi had insulted him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

**"THE JUTSU, THE HARISHIN NO JUTSU IS A TECHNIQUE THAT ALLOWS ONLY ONE PERSON TO MOVE AT AN EXTREME RATE! WHEN YOU TOOK YOUR TEAMMATES YOU EXTENDED THE FIELD TO INCLUDE THEM, THIS CAUSED YOU TO EXPEL MORE CHAKRA THAN WHAT YOU CAN SAFELY USE. YOU ARE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO CHAKRA DEPLETION." **The Kyuubi explained.

Naruto sighed, "How bad?"

"**NORMALLY IT WOULD TAKE YOU MONTHS TO RECOVER,"** the Kyuubi growled. Before Naruto could speak, he continued, **"BUT BECAUSE OF ME IT WILL TAKE YOU A FEW DAYS, MAYBE A WEEK TO FULLY RECOVER? IN THE MEAN TIME DON'T DO ANY OF YOUR MORE POWERFUL JUTSU."**

Naruto nodded, "Thank you Kyu-chan, I will rest, but only if you teach me more techniques while I recover."

Kyuubi chuckled, **'THE KIT LIVES TO LEARN, BART YOU WOULD BE PROUD OF HIM,' **Kyuubi thought. **"ALRIGHT THEN KID, BUT FIRST YOU REST."**

Naruto nodded, and laid down to rest. After he had when to sleep, he failed to notice that the Kyuubi extended one of his tails and wrapped him with it.

* * *

Real World

* * *

The Sound Team watched over Team Seven. At first their goal was to eliminate Uchiha Sasuke, however, that all changed when the received a visit from Orochimaru.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

"Orochimaru-sama!" the Sound Team exclaimed as they knelt before their Kage.

"How can we serve you, Orochimaru-sama," Zaku said with his head bowed.

"Your orders have changed," Orochimaru said, "You are now to observe Team Seven. Make note of any thing that is out of place or unusual, also, of each member, their ability, their strengths, and weaknesses. Is that clear?"

"HAI!" the Sound Team said.

"Excellent," Orochimaru said, as he started slipped into the shadows. "Also, if there is anything new… here," he said as a scroll was thrown at the Sound Team. "This will allow you to speak with me."

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

The Sound Team watched as two members of Team Seven were watching over their third member.

"This is boring," Dosu said, "Why can't we attack them, they are weak right now."

"NO!" Zaku emphasized loudly. "You and I both know what happens to ninjas that disobey Orochimaru-sama. They end up dead or worst… part of his experiments," he continued as he shivered.

The rest of the Sound Team shivered as well, remembering the times that Orochimaru "disciplined" those that disobeyed him. It was difficult not to remember the screams or seeing the results of his experiments. The Sound Team shivered and continued their watch over the group.

But they weren't the only ones that were watching.

Sasuke and Sakura were watching over Naruto, each taking turns looking after him. They knew that they had to take care of each of their members or else they would fail the exam. However, they soon became aware of others that were watching over them.

A squirrel came bursting through the underbrush racing towards them. Sakura reacted quickly and threw a kunai in front of the squirrel causing it to run away. Sasuke awoke as he heard the noise that the kunai made once it hit the ground. Both waited, each prepared for the worst. Suddenly a multitude of kunais and shurikens came at them from the underbrush, Sasuke reacted quickly by slamming his hand on the ground and shouting, "Doton: Doryuheki!" Instantly, a wall of earth erupted from the ground in front of the team. After intercepting the thrown weapons, the wall returned to the ground. As it returned, it revealed a team with the Hidden Rock symbol on their headband. There were three Nins, two males and a female. Each Nin was well equipped; the two males carried massive spiked clubs and the female carried a Zanbatsu.

"Give us your scroll and no-one gets hurt," one of the males said with a grin.

Both, Sasuke and Sakura knew that this was a lie, as they saw the grins appear on each of the faces of the Rock Team. They had recently searched Naruto for the scroll and were able to find the Earth Scroll, which they received at the beginning of the exam. Sasuke decided to carry it, to which Sakura agreed. But now, there stood a complete team, both Sasuke and Sakura knew that they had to guard Naruto, while he was unconscious, or else he would be used to get the scroll. So they stood close by Naruto with their kunais at the ready, waiting for the next move.

"So be it," the same Earth Nin said as they charged toward Team Seven.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yelled as he got ready to jump. Sakura nodded and unleashed the trap that she had waiting. Meanwhile Sasuke unleashed his Sharingan.

The Earth Team watched as a gigantic log came barreling down towards them. "Heh," the Earth Nin said as he made some seals. "Doton: Doryudan!" Suddenly a dragon projectile made of mud was launched at the log. Once it hit the log, it exploded, destroying the log and the projectile.

"Stop playing around, Kenshen. Get the scroll." The female Nin said.

"What do you think I am doing, Asuka?" Kenshin said.

"Shut up both, get the scroll first!" the third Nin said.

With that the three attacked, the male Nins charged forth, while the female Nin leapt into the air and threw more kunais and shurikens.

Sakura and Sasuke acted quickly, they grabbed Naruto and leapt out of the way of the barrage. Once out of the way, Sasuke created a set of symbols, "Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" A barrage of fireballs came from Sasuke's mouth, each fireball heading toward the two male Nins. He then created another set of seals and cried, "Katon: Karyu Endan!" An enormous fireball shot out of Sasuke's mouth, creating a dragon. Sasuke used this to get the two male Nins closer to one another.

The male Nins dodged all of the fireballs, but just as they were about to face Sakura, they were about to dodge two satchels thrown by Sakura. What neither of them knew was that a third satchel was thrown toward Asuka. Just before the satchels reached the Nins, they exploded scattering little sheets of paper that covered the ground around the Nins, and the Nins themselves.

"What?" the Nins said as they saw the little sheets of paper surround them. They watched as those little sheets of paper floated downward. It was then that they realized that those sheets weren't sheets but little EXPLOSIVE NOTES!

"Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu!" Sakura yelled as she threw two kunais with an explosive note attached to them.

**KABOOM!**

The resulting explosion sent the Nins flying back hitting the trees with a tremendous amount of force.

Both Sasuke and Sakura looked on stunned as the Nin went unconscious. "How?" Sasuke asked. Sakura could only swallowed. "N-n-naruto gave me the scroll that detailed the Jutsu," she responded. Sakura could not believe the amount of damage that the technique produced. She remembered that Naruto took her aside one day and gave her a scroll to study detailing this and other techniques, but nothing could prepare her for the amount of devastation that the Jutsu produced.

Sasuke could only nod as he remembered that Naruto had handed him a scroll. At first, he did not want to study it, but after the hearing about what happened at the bridge, he opened the scroll. Within detailed many different ninjutsu and genjutsu techniques, as well as a meditation technique, which was supposed to help him. Although, Sasuke had no idea how it would help him.

It was then that they heard a moan behind them. 'Naruto' they thought as they turned to see him slowly getting up. They both went to his side, "Naru?" they said. Just as they approached Naruto, Sasuke collapsed. Sakura reacted quickly and caught Sasuke. "Chakra depletion, with the use of his eyes and the three high level ninjutsu," she thought.

* * *

Meanwhile in the trees surrounding Team Seven

* * *

The Sound Team was fuming; they had just seen Sasuke and Sakura defend themselves against the Earth Team.

"I think we should talk to Orochimaru-sama. With Sasuke down, we can easily deal with Team Seven," Dosu said.

"Yeah, we only have the girl to deal with," Zaku replied.

"Let's see what Orochimaru says," Kin responded.

With that the Sound Team leaves Team Seven.

* * *

The next day

* * *

Sakura began to nod of to sleep, she knew that she needed to stay awake in case there was an attack, and with both Naruto and Sasuke unconscious, all that was left was her. A noise behind her set her on alert. She pulled out her kunai and slowly turned around only to see a squirrel gnawing on a nut. She breathed a sign of relief. However, when the squirrel came closer she quickly threw her kunai to ward it away.

* * *

In the trees

* * *

"So she found the scroll," Zaku said.

"Possibly or…" Dosu answered.

"Or it is a trap there waiting for us," Kin said.

Dosu nodded. "Let's go. Remember our orders. Kill Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura began to nod off again, she shook herself in order to stop, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before sleep would take her. 'I need to stay awake, they are relying on me to protect them,' she thought. She pulled out the scroll that Naruto had given her when they first started training as Team Seven. She remembered trying to ignore it but Naruto insisted and told her that it would help get Sasuke's attention. With that she promptly grabbed the scroll and took it home. She studied the first techniques and was surprised by the details that it required. Her father and mother also looked at the scroll and were amazed by the techniques that were in the scroll, however, when they heard who gave her the scroll, they immediately attempted to burn the scroll saying that no daughter of theirs would accept a gift from him. Sakura quickly grabbed the scroll and ran to her room, she quickly hid the scroll, and stayed in her room the rest of the night. Sakura remembered when she met with Team Seven, she told Naruto of her parent's response to the scroll, he nodded, and told her to tell her parents that if they have a problem that the Hokage will gladly correct it for them. She shook her head in jest as she remembered the fish face that her parents did after they heard what Naruto had told her. She was allowed to keep the scroll from then on.

A voice interrupted her inner musings, "Not paying attention to your surroundings." Sakura quickly turned to the voice to see the Sound team on the outer edge of the clearing. "But there's no need to do so. Can you wake Naruto-san? We want to fight him," Dosu said.

'These guys are…' Sakura thought as she edged her hand toward her kunai pouch. "What are you talking about? What is your purpose?" She said as she stood up. "We know that the S-ranked nukenin named Orochimaru is behind all this."

This caused the Sound Team to react suddenly.

"If it wasn't for Naruto, Sasuke-kun and I would be dead by now. You want to fight Naruto when he is suffering from chakra depletion?" Sakura demanded.

"I wonder, too what is that person thinking?" Dosu said.

"But now that we heard that, we can't ignore it." Zaku said. "I'll kill this girl, too. I'll even kill the Naruto guy." He then got up from the rock.

"Wait Zaku." Dosu said.

"What?" Zaku said.

Dosu walked closer to Sakura. "How unoriginal," he said. "The color of the dirt indicates that it has just been dug up. This grass doesn't even grow here."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, 'That's okay, it's only a plant for the next stage,' she thought.

"There's no meaning to a trap if it isn't made well." Dosu continued as he pulled the grass back a little.

"How dumb. So she threw that knife so that the squirrel wouldn't get caught in the trap," Zaku said.

"Let's kill her right away." Dosu said. The Sound Team then leapt toward Sakura.

Sakura smiled as she cut a wire from her kunai. This activated her trap, a log that came swinging down from the treetops.

"A log!" Zaku yelled.

"So there was a trap above us, too?" Dosu said, "Crap… Not." With that he placed his hand on the log and raised his left hand. This caused the log to explode.

Sakura smiled as she threw a kunai towards the remains and cut another wire. This unleashed two more logs, one from the back and the other dropped from above them. But before they could react the kunai hit the remains of the log, it ignited and set an explosion that sent the Sound Team hurtling toward the log behind them, but before they could react that log exploded and the concussion force sent then hurtling back toward Sakura, right in the path of the log that was dropping down toward them.

"Shit," Zaku yelled. He then placed his hands in front of the log. "Zankuha!" he yelled. Just then the log burst into pieces. The Sound Team turned toward Sakura. "Nice try, but your time ends here," Dosu said.

Before they could reach Sakura, a voice called out, "Konoha Senpu!" It was then that each member of the Sound Team was hit by a whirling green figure. As the dust settled, a green figure came into view. A squirrel rested on his shoulder, and with his right hand opened to the sky, everyone heard him say, "Then the three of you also need to work harder." Sakura was stunned, "Him," she said softly.

"Who are you?" Dosu asked.

"Konoha's beautiful blue beast… Rock Lee!" Lee said.

"Why are you here?" Sakura stuttered out.

"When you are in danger, I will appear at anytime." Lee responded quickly. He then took the squirrel down from his shoulder and onto the ground. "Not. It was thanks to you," he said to the squirrel. "Now, go."

"But right now, I am your enemy, too," Sakura said.

"I told you before," Lee said as the wind blew threw his hair. "That I will protect you to the death."

Sakura gasped as she remembered what he had said before. "Oh, thank you…" she said quietly.

Lee's eyes watered and tears rolled down his face. 'I did it perfectly! I did it perfectly, Guy-sensei!' Lee thought.

Dosu pulled out the Earth Scroll, "We have no other choice. Zaku, I'll give Naruto-kun to you," he said as he tossed the scroll towards Zaku. "I'll kill these two."

'Judging from her appearance, she's not fit to fight right now,' Lee thought.

'That fat eyebrow is quite efficient in hand-to-hand combat,' Dosu thought as he pulled his shirt arm away from his right forearm exposing the holed gauntlet. 'Looks like I can have some fun.' He then charged toward Lee.

Sakura saw this and threw a kunai toward the feet of Dosu. As it landed Dosu went into the air. But just as he leapt into the air, the explosive tag on the end of the kunai exploded and sent him flying even further up. Dosu corrected himself, and willed the pain away as he approached Lee. Lee quickly shoved his arm into the ground and pulled up a root.

"Your attack has some sort of trick to it, right?" Lee asked. "I won't dodge it in a normal way." This caused Dosu to react. "I saw your move before, and Naruto told us what your attacked used… Sound waves." This caused the Sound Team to react as well. "Naruto told us that Sound can be used as a weapon, depending on the frequency and the users ability to mold it."

'He's… strong.' Sakura thought.

'But still, I'm at a disadvantage since it's one against three,' Lee thought. 'I will have to gamble. I will defeat them one at a time with everything I have!'

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of the forest

* * *

"We can't find any weak looking people at all!" Ino said.

"Actually, only Naruto's team is probably weaker than us." Shikamaru said.

"You idiot, do you know what you're saying!" Ino said with her fist raised.

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"Naruto and Sakura are weak, but they have the super genius, Sasuke-kun." Ino replied her forehead throbbing.

Shikamaru folded his arms, and said, "I don't know about that. Geniuses can become quite fragile in real combat."

"What!" Ino asked in a deep voice.

Shikamaru sweatdropped, "Fine, fine. I'm sorry that I upset you." 'Geez, what a troublesome girl. She always glares at me whenever I talk badly of Sasuke.'

"There's no way Sasuke-kun can be defeated!" Ino continued. She turned and folded her arms. "Although Sakura can be."

Cho, who was sitting high in the trees, eating, noticed something and began to stare intently. "Sasuke's on the ground. And Sakura's fighting."

"What did you say?" Ino asked. Shikamaru and Ino leapt into the trees, and focused where Cho had said. What they saw stunned them.

* * *

Meanwhile in another part of the forest

* * *

"He's late. That Lee…" Tenten said, "Something's wrong. He's always on time. Maybe he encountered an enemy. Did he…!"

"That's not possible," Neji said as he opened his eyes. "Anyway, let's go look for Lee."

"Okay," Tenten said. The two then disappeared to go and look for their missing member.

* * *

Back to Team 7

* * *

Lee was remembering Gai's words.

"This technique is a last resort move that places a heavy burden on your muscle cells. Normally, people only use 20 percent of the power that the muscles possess. Only 20 percent… And if you try to extract 100 percent of its power, your muscles will break down. That is why your brain limits your powers. However, this move forcefully removes that limiter from your brain using Chakra… And enables you to produce enough power to execute high-speed continuous hand-to-hand combat combo moves… In other words, it's a dangerous technique that enables you to use powers that challenge the human body's limit. That's why you can only use this move under this condition."

'The condition is…' Lee thought as he unraveled the arm bandage. 'Guy-sensei, I will now use the move without reservation. Because now is the time to…'

Dosu charged at Lee and grinned, 'All to easy,' he thought.

"… Protect an important person!" Lee said as he raised two fingers in front of him. Just as Dosu approached, Lee disappeared from his sight.

"He disappeared," Dosu said, only to be interrupted by a kick that sent him flying skyward.

Lee seeing that Dosu was heading upwards used his hand to launch himself upwards. Appearing behind Dosu, he yelled, "I'm not done yet!" Lee's bandages loosened and began wrapping themselves tightly around Dosu. Once they were completed they tied Dosu's arms behind him. After they were done, Lee wrapped his hands around Dosu and sent both himself and Dosu downward.

"That's not good. He can't break the fall like that." Zaku said, as he began making symbols. Only to stop and dodge out of the way of a kunai that Sakura had thrown. 'Damn it I need to finish help Dosu,' he thought as he tried again only to have to break it off as Sakura again stopped him with another kunai throw.

"Take this!" Lee yelled as he began to spin like a top. Zaku tried to one final time to stop Lee's attack, but Sakura once again stopped him from doing so. However, the attempts stopped as they heard Lee yell out.

"SECONDARY LOTUS!"

**BOOOM!**

Zaku, Sakura and Kin watched as Lee disappeared and the legs of Dosu appear on the ground.

Zaku and Kin reacted quickly, Kin grabbed Sakura's hair while Zaku pulled a kunai and placed it at Sakura's throat. "STOP!" Zaku said, "Or I will kill her."

"Sakura-chan!" Lee yelled as he staggered up. 'Not good, I am still feeling weak from the technique.'

Zaku noticed Lee's stagger, and attacked. Disappearing from Sakura's side, he reappeared next to Lee creating symbols along the way. Before Lee could react, Zaku yelled out pointing his palms at Lee, "Air pressure, 100 percent. Supersonic waves, 50 percent. Zankuha!" Twin bolts of sound waves and air pressure waves hit Lee, sending him flying back. Before he could adjust himself, he heard a voice call out above him. "Air pressure, 0 percent. Supersonic waves, 100 percent. Zankuha!" It was then that Lee cried out in pain.

As Lee tried to stand, he found that his perception ability was altered. He opened his eyes to see Zaku or at least what he hoped was Zaku, because the person standing before him was wavy and distorted.

"I doubt that you could react as quickly as you can now. With the Supersonic wave that I hit you with, you would be hard pressed in to doing anything at all." Zaku said.

'He's right, I can barely make him out, how am I going to help out Sakura.' Lee thought. It was the last thought he had as he fell unconscious, as he never saw the punch that sent him to the unconsciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile in the bushes around the battle

* * *

"Come on, let's run away. They're dangerous." Cho said.

"Looks like Sasuke and Naruto are out of it." Shikamaru said. "But even Lee is weaken, and now it's just Sakura. What are you going to do, Ino?"

"What, you ask?" Ino said.

"Sakura's in danger. Is that okay with you?" Shikamaru said.

This brought Ino back, as she turned her eyes to Shikamaru.

"You two were best friends, right?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino flashed back into her past and her life with Sakura. She knew that she had to do something, but her body was shaking in fear.

* * *

Back with Sakura

* * *

Sakura began to move but Kin pulled her hair. "Don't move," Kin said.

Sakura began to tear up, she saw that Lee was hurt and she knew that there was no one left that could protect her. 'Protect me…' she thought. 'I'm just being a nuisance again. I've always been protected. I thought that it was my turn to protect my important people.'

"Let's end this." Zaku said as he turned and walked toward Naruto and Sasuke.

Sakura quickly pulled out her last kunai.

Kin notice it immediately and said, "It won't work. There's no point to that."

Sakura turned her head and looked at Kin. "What are you talking about?" she asked. And with a quick cut removed Kin's hold by cutting her hair. Once done, Sakura instantly went into action. 'I've always been acting like a grownup ninja… And I've always been saying that I love Sasuke-kun. And I always lectured Naruto like I was better than him. But all I've been doing was watching their backs. Still...' Sakura thought as she remembered the past, the fights that Sasuke and Naruto both had. 'They always fought to protect me. Lee-san… you said that you liked me…' She remembered Lee's words and his fight. 'And fought with your life while protecting me. I think you taught me something.' In her mind, she replayed Naruto, Lee, and Sasuke all smiling at her. 'I want to become like you three.' She then remembered Naruto giving her the scroll with a smile on his face. "There will come a time when you will have to decide what to do. Read what is in this scroll, study it, and when the time comes use it," he said. 'Naruto… Thank you… Everyone… This time… Please watch my back.' Sakura thought as she squeezed her hands into fist. With her back turned, she began making seals.

"Kin, kill her!" Zaku yelled, as he saw her cut her hair.

Kin shook off her stunned expression and pulled out three senbon needles and charged at Sakura. As she approached Sakura quickly turned and dodged the attack. Sakura used that time to place her hands on Kin's arms. This caused Kin to lose her grip on her needles. "What!" Kin said as she turned toward Sakura, who slapped Kin's legs, causing Kin to fall to the ground.

"Chakra scalpels." Sakura said as she turned to charge toward Zaku. But before she could attack, Zaku's Zankuha sent her flying into the air. She hit the tree roughly and landed on the ground. Her body was in pain, but Sakura attempted to get up. 'I have to protect them,' was the thought that ran through her mind. She looked up to see Zaku aim his arms at her.

"Prepare to die," Zaku said as he aimed his arms. But before he could continue three blurs appeared between him and Sakura.

"What?" Sakura said softly.

Zaku grinned, "Some new weird ones are here now."

'Ino,' Sakura thought.

"Sakura, I promised that I wouldn't lose to you, remember?" Ino said. Sakura gasped.

It was then that Kin, who was carrying Dosu, joined Zaku. "Che," Zaku said, "How is Dosu."

"Still unconscious," Kin said.

"Che," Zaku restated.

Sakura looked up at Ino, "Ino… Why are you here…?"

"I'm not going to let you take all the good parts in front of Sasuke-kun!" Ino said.

Chouji was scared, he didn't like what was going on and decided to act. "What are you two thinking! These guys are too dangerous, even if there are still two of them left!" he cried.

"It's troublesome, but we have to do this." Shikamaru tried to explain to Chouji.

Ino giggled, "Sorry to get you two involved, but we're a three-man team. We do everything together."

"Oh well, whatever happens, happens." Shikamaru said as he looked at the Sound team.

"No! I don't want to die yet!" Chouji exclaimed as he turned to leave. "Let go of my muffler!"

"Shut up and stop moving!" Shikamaru said as he held on to the muffler.

Zaku chuckled at the group's actions. "You can run if you want… Fatty."

Chouji stopped as his ears twitched. "What did that person just say?" Chouji asked, "I couldn't hear him too well."

Zaku was puzzled; at first the fat boy wanted to run, now he stood there waiting for a response. Meanwhile Shikamaru was worried, 'Those words are taboo to Chouji.'

"If he says it again…" Chouji stated in a neutral voice.

"I said that you can go jack off in the woods in you want… You fat ass!" Zaku yelled.

Chouji turned quickly around, his face a shroud of anger. "I'm not fat! I'm big-boned!" He yelled as veins became more pronounced coming from his forehead protector. He spun around and began gathering his chakra which came forward is a whirl of blue that surrounded him. "Hurray for big-boned people!" He cried as a noise suspiciously like a person breaking wind could be heard. It was then that his chakra covered him.

Sakura was stunned and could not figure what was going on.

Immediately Chouji pointed to Ino. "Okay! You two understand that this is a fight between Konoha and Sound, right!" He cried. His eyes became enflamed with righteous anger.

'Good, he got pissed off,' Ino thought.

"Geez, this is going to be troublesome," Shikamaru said.

"Hn. That's our line," Zaku said. 'Damn it, first Sasuke, now Naruto, how can we kill him without any more interruptions.' He thought.

Sakura turned to her teammates that were still unconscious. He turned her head when she heard her name being called by Ino.

"Take care of the two back there." Ino continued. Sakura nodded and when to her teammates. "The Ino team is going to go with everything they have!" Ino said.

"Alright!" Chouji and Shikamaru said.

"Formation Ino!" Ino yelled.

"Shika!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Chou!" Chouji yelled.

"Go for it, Chouji!" Ino cried.

"Okay!" Chouji cried. He then clasped his hands together in an arch and cried, "Baika no Jutsu!" His waist expanded into a balloon shape. "And Konoha Style hand-to-hand combat…" Chouji said, before his arms, legs, and head disappeared into his body. His body bounced upwards. "Meat Tank!" he cried before his body spun forward towards Zaku.

"What the hell is this?" Zaku said as he saw the ball rush toward him. "It's just a fat ass rolling." He said as he raised his arms toward Chouji. "Zankuha!" he cried and unleashed his power. Unfortunately, all it did was slow down Chouji. "Why you…!" Zaku exclaimed as he poured more Chakra into his Zankuha. Just when Zaku thought he was winning, Chouji changed his body so that it could be launched into the air.

"What!" Zaku cried as he saw what was happening. "It flew up!" 'Damn it, with his rotation, the air pressure from the Zankuha doesn't work very well. But even if I want to send supersonic waves into him, my arms would break touching that thing.' He thought.

Kin saw her partner in trouble and rushed to his aid. But before she could, Shikamaru saw her actions.

'I don't think so,' he thought. "Ninpou, Kage Mane no Jutsu!" Shikamaru called out as his shadow suddenly reacted and lashed out towards Kin.

'What?' she thought as she found that her body could not move.

Zaku dodged Chouji's attack and turned towards Kin. "What the hell are you doing?" he cried as he saw her in a monkey position. He turned to see Shikamaru in the same predicament. "What? Shadow Bind?"

"Ino, now it's up to you woman," Shikamaru said.

"Okay, Shikamaru, take care of my body." Ino said.

"Sure," he said as she went into a stance.

Kin widened her eyes in amazement. "What?" she cried.

"Ninpou, Shintenshin no Jutsu!" Ino cried. When her and Kin's eyes met.

"Damn it," Zaku said as he dodged another attempt from Chouji. "Kin," he called out. He then saw Kin pull a kunai and point it towards her neck.

"This is it." Kin said.

"Nani!" Zaku yelled.

"If you move, this Kin girl is dead." Kin stated.

Zaku could not understand why Kin would do this.

"If you don't want to retire here, leave your scroll and get out of here." Kin continued. "Once you two back off far enough where we can't sense your Chakra, I'll let this girl go."

Zaku grinned and chuckled.

'What are they laughing…?' Ino/Kin thought. "Chouji!" Kin/Ino called out.

"Okay!" Chouji said as he charged at Kin/Ino.

"No! They're trying to…!" Sakura cried out. But before she could continue Zaku raised his left arm and shot Kin with his Zankuha. This caused Ino to bleed from the mouth.

"Ino!" Shikamaru cried out.

Chouji reappeared from the dust cloud, his eyes were swirling. "I'm dizzy…" he said.

"What's wrong with them…? They hurt their own teammate." Kin/Ino said as she tried to rise from the ground.

Zaku smiled. "You took us too lightly. Our purpose is not a dumb scroll or to get through this exam." This caused Shikamaru and Chouji to gasp.

"What!" Kin/Ino said in a quiet tone.

"It's Naruto," Zaku said.

Zaku then raised his hand towards Kin. "It looks like your teammate was injured as well as Kin, which means if Kin dies, so does she."

"You're going to kill your teammate?" Shikamaru asked.

"If we have to… Yes," Zaku said.

"This is over." Shikamaru said after a few moments.

"Damn it!" Chouji said.

Zaku grinned as he got up. "Close. You almost had us. But you let your guard down," he said.

"How disgusting" a voice called out from above them.

Both Zaku and Team InoShikaChou looked up to see two more Konoha ninjas.

"A mere minor Sound ninja…" Neji said, "Acting like victors by beating those second-class ninja?"

"They're from Lee-san's team…" Sakura said softly.

Both Tenten and Neji saw the state that Lee was in. "Lee," Tenten said.

"It looks like he screwed up." Neji said.

"You guys keep coming out like roaches." Zaku said.

"That bobbed hair kid there is on our team…" Neji said. Veins bulged toward his eyes, "Looks like you went overboard with him!" This caused everyone to stare in amazement and fear.

'What is with his eyes? It looks like he's able to see everything with it…' Zaku thought.

"If you're going to continue to fight, we will fight with everything we have," Neji stated.

'Damn it, Dosu down, Kin is can't fight. IF we continue, there is no way we can finish the mission,' Zaku thought, 'But maybe we can get them to fight each other?' He slowly pulled out the earth scroll. "Here, take it," he said as he grabbed Dosu.

Everyone nodded, and Ino removed her jutsu. Zaku then took his team members and left.

Everyone was staring at the scroll. The first to speak was Neji. "Huh, like we would take a scroll from a weak opponent." Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji wanted the scroll since it would help them pass, but before any one could get the scroll two moans were heard. Everyone turned to see Naruto and Sasuke getting up. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ouch, what happened?" Sasuke said.

"Oooooh, I have got to start thinking more about what I do BEFORE I do it," Naruto said.

With that both turned to see two teams and an injured Sakura looking at them. "Sakura!" the two called out as they ran to Sakura. Sasuke grabbed Sakura and looked at her, checking for any injuries. "What happened?" they asked. After getting the entire story from Sakura, Naruto stood up. He turned toward the two teams and bowed.

"Thank you for protecting Sakura. If you want you can have the scroll as a thank you for your efforts," Naruto said, with Sasuke nodding.

"Naruto, what are you doing? We need that scroll, remember Orochimaru took ours." Sakura stated.

Naruto turned to Sakura. He raised his hand and placed it behind his head. Grinning at Sakura, he said, "Eheheh, about that. I still have the scroll, the one that Sasuke gave Orochimaru was one of these." He then pulled out a scroll opening it to reveal a series of explosive notes, attached to the scroll. "This way if anyone took the scroll they would be in for a nasty treat," Naruto said with a grin.

Everyone looked at Naruto with amazement. They could not believe that the 'dobe' could do something so ingenious as to fake a scroll. Their thoughts then turned inward with a simple thought, 'Why didn't I think of that?' Sasuke, meanwhile, smirked, 'So that's what caused the explosion.'

Once that thought had run its course. Naruto turned toward Sakura. "I think there is something that you need to do," he said as he nodded toward Lee who was being shaken awake by Tenten. Sakura nodded and walked up to Lee. "Lee-san… Thank you. Thanks to you, my eyes are wide open now," Sakura said with a smile. "I think I've become a little stronger."

Lee listen to Sakura's speech, his eyes welled up and began to tear. After a moment he spoke, "Sakura-san." He wiped away his tears and continued. "I… It looks like I need more training." Lee then raised his head toward Sakura. "Sakura-san. The Lotus in Konoha blooms twice."

"What?" Sakura asked.

"The next time we meet, I promise that I will be a stronger man." Lee said.

Sakura smiled, "Okay."

Suddenly, Ino yelled at Sakura, "Hey Sakura!" Sakura turned toward Ino's voice. Ino raised her hand, "Over here! I'll fix up your hair."

Sakura was suspicious but decided to go ahead. "Thanks," she said.

While Ino was cutting her hair, she started to complain. "You cheater. Sasuke hugged you back there, forehead girl."

Sakura gave a devious grin and turned her head towards Ino. "In public, the person who takes the initiative wins…" she said. "Ino-pig."

Once every thing was squared away, Lee's Team and Ino's Team left. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura nodded to each other and went to a more defendable place to gather supplies and think of what to do next.

Naruto was getting the last of the fishes. He had six, which meant that his teammates and he would be able to store some food for later. He was on his way back into camp when he saw Sakura with another ninja. Think she was in danger he quickly acted. Using the Shuushin no Jutsu to get behind the ninja, he quickly grabbed the ninja's head and quickly pulled just enough to be painful, but not enough to kill. "If you so much as flinch, I will kill you," Naruto said as he let a small amount of his killer intent out.

"Ehhh, Naruto… It's me Kabuto," the ninja said.

Naruto blinked, and then he blinked again. He quickly reined in his killer intent and removed his hands from Kabuto. He quickly got on his hands and knees and began bowing. "Ehehehe, forgive me Kabuto-san, I did not know it was you. Please forgive, please, please, pretty please with sprinkles and a cherry?" Naruto said as he continued to bow.

Kabuto and Sakura sweatdropped at the display, Kabuto quickly waved his hands. "Ehehehe, forget it Naruto," he said. 'He is definitely strong, and the speed is unlike anything I have ever seen. What else is he hiding?' Kabuto thought.

Soon after Sasuke came and both he and Naruto found out why Kabuto was there. "Nani! Why would you attempt to look at the scroll, Sakura?" Naruto said.

Sakura was embarrassed. She knew that she shouldn't have attempted to open the scroll but she wanted to know what was inside that made it so important. She hung her head down in shame saying, "Gomen." However, Naruto placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay Sakura. At least, Kabuto was able to stop you before you did anything permanent," Naruto said as he smiled.

"Arigatou, Naruto," Sakura said in a soft tone.

Naruto changed his clothes, and when he got back he heard Sasuke challenge Kabuto for his scroll. Shaking his head, he remembered what he needed to do, and decided to wait until the appropriate time. However, that did not let Sasuke off the hook. "Baka, we don't need another scroll, we have both of them," he exclaimed.

"WHAT?" Sasuke and Sakura said.

"When we first went up against that Mist Nin, I stole his scroll. This means we have two scroll, I was waiting to tell you this after breakfast," Naruto said.

Both Sasuke and Sakura could not believe what Naruto had done. This removed the huge burden that they thought they had. Smiling, they realized that all they needed to do was to head toward the tower.

"Kabuto-san, since you are heading that way, why don't you join us until you meet up with your teammates?" Naruto asked.

Kabuto realized that this would be a great time to see what Naruto's abilities were at? So he agreed to go with them.

* * *

Nightfall

* * *

Naruto knew that there was something going on. It had taken them the entire day of traveling, and once it was nightfall, Naruto felt something was not right with his surrounding. 'We must be caught in a genjutsu. It is the only explanation to why I feel the way I do. I better let the others know, ooooorrr…' Naruto thought as a small grin appeared on his face. Without letting the other react, Naruto quickly pulled out a kunai and threw it towards an insect that was crawling up a tree. "There!" He said as he threw the kunai.

This got all of them to look… at a giant centipede, with a kunai lodged in its head.

"It's huge. Those legs are just creepy," Sakura said as she made a gesture about the legs.

"Naruto-kun," Kabuto said. Naruto turned his attention towards Kabuto. "I want to avoid careless actions and unnecessary noises from here on out. If we go through this jungle making noises like an elephant, it's the same as signaling to everyone that we're coming. We will receive a passionate welcome."

Naruto faked a thoughtful expression. "I see…"

"We will hide and move slowly, as time allows." Kabuto continued.

"Okay," Team Seven said.

Kabuto was watching Team Seven. "They're pretty good," he said as he watched Sakura and Sasuke. 'But where's Naruto?' he thought. As he moved forward, he soon came across his answer. Tied up in vines Naruto was struggling to get out.

"I can't get it off… Let go…!" Naruto said, as soon as he felt Kabuto get closer. 'This will make him think less of me. Hehehehe,' Naruto thought.

'I can't believe Orochimaru was defeated by him.' Kabuto thought as he reappeared to help Naruto out.

Once they were all gathered, Kabuto used his compass to estimate how long it would take to get to the tower. After a few hours, they came across another team… only the team wasn't able to meet them.

"A trap?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah." Kabuto replied. "It's going to be more intense now."

As they all left, Naruto decided to lower the other's opinion of him by tripping a trap. As he tripped the trap, Kabuto jumped in front of him taking the kunais that were meant for Naruto. When Naruto turned toward the corpse of Kabuto, he saw the log with the kunai attached to them.

"That was close, Naruto," a voice said above Naruto.

Naruto turned to see Kabuto leaning against the tree. "Kawarimi no Jutsu?" Naruto said.

"I told you that it was going to get intense now." Kabuto said.

Team Seven looked at Kabuto, and nodded.

It had been another two hours, before Sakura gave out. "How long have we walked? The tower isn't getting closer at all," she said.

Naruto looked at the tower. 'I guess I better help them out a little,' he thought. "It looks like it's right in front of us… This is weird…" he said.

"Indeed," Sasuke said.

"It seems that we're already inside someone's "passionate welcome"." Kabuto said. "See? Look over there," he said as he pointed behind them.

Team Seven looked to see a giant centipede, the same centipede that Naruto had killed earlier.

"How?" Sakura said.

"An illusionary technique." Sasuke said.

"So it seems." Kabuto said. "I was totally fooled. It seems that we were tricked into walking in circles in a very careful manner."

"We're being watched," Sasuke said.

"They most likely want us to waste our strength and were planning a surprise attack when we tire." Kabuto said.

"Then we're already playing to the enemy's plan." Sasuke said.

"Then they might attack us soon." Kabuto replied.

It was then that everyone noticed the surroundings. From every corner, Mist Nins started appearing, wearing all black except for their white blindfolds. They began crawling out from the trees and ground. Once they appeared they all stood up. Naruto decided to take the initiative and attack with a punch. 'Let's see what kind of bushin they are,' he thought as he lunges toward the bushin. His punch went through the bushin easily, causing the bushin to have an open space in its center. 'It feels oil-like,' Naruto thought as he passed through the bushin. Which sprouted another bushin which tried to kill Naruto with a two-bladed knife.

Sasuke knew he had to do something. So he decided to use the only thing that he knew could help. 'Sharingan,' he thought as his eyes turned red with two commas swirling within. Sasuke saw the action of the bushin and used his some of his shurikens to destroy the arm. However, this did not stop the bushin as it turned toward Sasuke and threw another two-bladed knife at Sasuke. Naruto shouted a warning to Sasuke, and watched as Sasuke quickly blocked the knife with his kunai.

'This is definitely real. It's no illusion,' the four Nins thought, as they tried to figure out what was going on. Sasuke was the first to speak. "They are just illusions. It's an illusionary technique used by the enemy."

"That means that…" Sakura said.

Naruto nodded his head. "We need to get rid of these bushin, that way we can deal with the real thing." He was about to act when Kabuto spoke.

"Wait, Naruto-kun. In this situation, the source of the real knife is hidden, so we can't figure out the enemy's exact location. Do you understand now? That's their tactic. According to my data, those who are weak in hand-to-hand and close combat prefer to attack like this. The real enemy won't come out until we can't move at all. Listen up, everyone. We can only dodge the enemy's attack right now."

"I don't think so," Naruto said as he created a seal. Suddenly, he cried out, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" As the smoke blocked everyone's view, Naruto used some of his clones to get the rest of his group into hiding. He then created several Kage Bushins and attacked. After he was committed, he sent a mental order for the other fakes to help. Through the night and into the morning Naruto continued to fight. After the sun had risen, he decided to fake losing. He mentally ordered the fakes to take hits and to be defeated. He knew that the others were rested and ready to attack, so he began losing. Finally, he and the fakes were pushed into a corner; he knew that the true opponents would not miss this chance.

* * *

Meanwhile in the treetops

* * *

"The sky is getting brighter," Oboro said. As he waved to another Mist Nin. "It's finally time to hunt. Mubi, you can stop now." Mubi nodded, as he released his illusion. Then suddenly the illusions began disintegrating. "We're done crushing their spirits. Now we finish off their bodies," he said as he and the others landed in front of Naruto.

Naruto worked very hard not to smile as he saw the Nins disappear. He knew that the Mist Nins had shown up. 'About time I thought they wouldn't take the hint.'

Once the illusion was gone the Mist Nins remained. "How lucky," Mubi said. He then saw the fake Sasuke. "You," Mubi said. "You're the one who injured my left shoulder, right? I finally found you. You wasted our time. How, lucky, I can finally get revenge." Mubi then raised another two-bladed knife.

Naruto had finally had enough. He grinned as a voice called out.

"Like a mouse in a trap."

The Mist Nins became nervous as they looked at the tree lines trying to find the voice.

"It went well, Naruto," another voice said.

The Mist Nins finally turned around to see Naruto's companions behind them.

"What did they do…?" Mubi asked. "That can't be! When did they…!"

Naruto stood up and dusted himself off. "Baka, you finally showed yourselves, huh." He then dismissed the dismissed the fakes to reveal Kage Bushins.

Mubi turned back to Naruto and saw the Kage Bushins. 'What? Did this kid…?' he thought. 'It can't be.'

Naruto smiled, "I used the Kage Bushin to set up this trick. So that I could pretend to be everyone from this team." The bushins disappeared.

Sasuke smiled, "Once he started the Kage Bushins, the three of us hid. So an illusionary technique master was fooled."

Naruto began taking deep breaths. 'I'm not really tired but I might as well fake it so that no one knows how strong I really am,' he thought as he set himself down on one knee.

Sasuke and Sakura gasped. "Naruto." Sasuke called out. "Naruto, you used up too much Chakra. I'll do the rest."

The Mist Nins turned to face the three Genins, but before they could act Naruto leapt toward the Mist Nin on the right and using his fist struck him causing him to hit the others with a tremendous amount of force. This causes the Mist Nins to be dragged back a few feet. Naruto smiled, "As much as I would like that, Sasuke. We need to end this quickly and not give them time to recover," he said as everyone saw the weariness on his face.

Everyone looked at Naruto stunned, each with thoughts running through their heads.

'Is he really that Naruto?' Sasuke thought. 'When did he become stronger?'

'What a kid, he can still move after all that,' Mubi thought as he raised hand as if to ward off an attack from Naruto.

"Naruto," Sakura said softly.

Kabuto could only stare. 'What incredible Chakra stamina. Right before that multiple Kage Bushin no Jutsu; he transformed three of them into teammates. He did all that and can still move? It's the fifth day already. If he masters how to use his Chakra, he's going to become even stronger.'

Oboro quickly made a seal. "Pretty good." His teammates were about to make the same seal when Naruto appeared before them.

Naruto yelled out, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto created two Kage Bushins to grab the Mist Nins on either side of Oboro. He then sent the Kage Bushins the command. And as he punched Oboro out, the clones flipped the other two towards his teammates. "Sasuke, Sakura, Kabuto-san, heads up." Naruto said before he dismissed the Kage Bushins.

Sasuke was the first to react by attacking the Mist Nin. However, before Sakura or Kabuto could react, Mobi attacked Kabuto. Using his two-bladed knife, Mobi was able to slash Kabuto causing Kabuto to lose his glasses. As Mobi was about to finish the job, Kabuto stared at him. Kabuto's eyes were that of a maniac's, with the white part slowly turning red. This caused Mobi to back up slowly, allowing Sasuke and Naruto to see why he was backing up. Before anything could happen, Sakura performed a flying roundhouse kick that hit Mobi on the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

Later

* * *

Naruto had gathered the Mist Nins together, doing a complete search, he found some scrolls, most he read were journals, but some contained Suton Jutsu, Ninpo Jutsu, and other techniques. He quickly created fake scrolls and replaced it with the ones that he was taking; he stealthily took the Heaven Scroll from his pouch and placed it in front of him. Once he had scavenged some weapons, he took the scroll and turned around.

"I found it!" Naruto exclaimed. "Look! It's a Scroll of Heaven!"

"Great." Kabuto said as he looked at Naruto.

'He…' Sasuke thought as he looked at Kabuto. '… Isn't what he says he is.'

* * *

Later at the tower

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kabuto had finally reached the tower. As they reached the doors two Nins approached from behind Kabuto. Kabuto turned when he heard them.

"It's just you all…" the first Nin with dark glasses said. "You're late, Kabuto."

Kabuto walked up to the Nins, "I was caught up in some trouble," he said, "Sorry."

Naruto decided that now would be a good time to switch the cards; he went to stand next to Kabuto. "But, but thanks to you, we got the two scrolls," Naruto said.

Kabuto smiled, "No, it's because of your hard work. Especially that last move, it was incredible, Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled as he faked tears coming from his eyes. He grabbed onto Kabuto and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Thank you, Kabuto-san," he said as he quickly switched the Nin cards, without anyone suspecting anything.

"Naruto, let go," Kabuto said as he tried to get Naruto off. He saw Naruto smile with tears in his eyes. Kabuto began to feel sorry for Naruto, but quickly squelched the thought as he finally removed Naruto from himself. Once Naruto was off of him, he looked at the door next to him and the Nins. "We'll go through this door…" Kabuto said. "Good luck to all of us."

Naruto quickly ran back to his team, he turned to see Kabuto raise a thumbs up at him. To which, Naruto smiled and nodded back. He then proceeded to open the doors and with that Team Seven entered the tower.

* * *

Meanwhile back with Kabuto

* * *

Once Kabuto and his team entered a voice called out to him.

"Got anything?" the voice asked.

"Yes, more than I expected," Kabuto said. "I've written down all the data pertaining to them from the Second Exam." He then pulled out two Nin cards. "You need this, right?" Kabuto asked.

"So, how were they?" the voice asked as the card switched hands.

"Looks like you're fond of them, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said.

"I want to hear your opinion… As a spy from the Hidden Village of Sound.

"You don't need that…" Kabuto said as he placed his right hand to where the blade slashed him. Once he removed the hand, you could not see a scar. "Since, you're the one who will determine everything." Kabuto said as he removed his right hand to show no scar of the slash.

"Your cunningness is what I like." Orochimaru said before he left. "Good job." Was heard from the placed where he once was.

* * *

Back with Team Seven

* * *

Team Seven had entered into the tower. Once inside they realized that no one was there. They saw the message on the wall.

"If you do not possess Heaven… gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you open both Heaven and Earth scrolls, dangerous paths turn into safe paths. This is the secret of something something…" Sakura said aloud. "It shall lead you on your way."

"That part looks like it's missing a letter," Sakura said. "It's probably referring to the scrolls. I think it's telling us to open both the Heaven and Earth scrolls."

Naruto nodded and pulled out both scrolls, Sakura to the Heaven scroll and both Naruto and Sakura opened the scrolls. They both looked at the scroll.

""Person", "Jin"" Sakura said as she looked at the scroll. Before anyone could do anything, Naruto quickly grabbed Sakura's scroll and tossed the scrolls both away from Team Seven. Once the scrolls landed they erupted in a plume of smoke. Once the smoke cleared Team Seven could not believe who stood before them.

"You're," Sasuke said.

"Hello," Iruka said interrupting Sasuke. "Long time no see." Iruka then looked up and smiled.

"What is going on?" Sakura demanded.

"Looks like the three of you went through a lot of trouble," Iruka said.

"What? Why?" Sakura said.

"We Chuunins are to welcome the examinees at the end of this Second Exam. I was given the duty to pass the three of you a message by chance." Iruka said as he pulled out a watch and whistled. "You made it just in time." He then closed the watch. "Everyone…" he said with a smile. "Congratulations on passing the Second Exam."

Team Seven stared at Iruka.

"I'd like to treat you to ramen at Ichiraku, but…" Iruka said. But before he could continue, Naruto ran up to him and tackled Iruka. "Hey, Naruto! Let me finish…" Iruka continued.

But Naruto would not let him, saying, "Ramen! Ramen!" over and over and over again.

Sakura and Sasuke sat down on the ground, they were exhausted. "What an energetic guy," Sasuke said.

Before anything else could happen, Iruka interrupted them. "Geez, you're still restless like before." Iruka said.

Sasuke grinned as he finally connected the scroll and Iruka together. Naruto smiled as he began to hear how the Second Exam was about testing the Nins ability towards mission completion. Also, Iruka told them that if they did disobey the rules that a Chuunin would stop them until the end of the Second Exam. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She then realized her question.

"Oh yeah sensei." Sakura said as she got Iruka's attention. She then pointed to the message. "What does that test on the wall mean? It seems to be broken, and we can't understand it all."

Naruto decided to tease Sakura by telling her that it did not matter, since they won. However, Iruka interrupted them. "No, my other mission is to explain to you what this means." Iruka said embarrassingly.

"What?" Naruto asked. "Really?"

"Yes." Iruka responded. He turned his head toward the writing. "Read it. This is the principal Hokage-sama wrote that you should keep in mind as a Chuunin."

"Principal?" Asked Sasuke.

"Yes, the "Heaven" in this text points to the head of a person. And "Earth" points to the body. If you do not possess Heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. That means, fore example, if Sasuke's weak point is his brain… He should study and prepare for his missions."

Naruto heard growling coming from Sakura and a little from Sasuke, 'He did say for example and if,' he thought.

"And if you do not possess Earth, run through the fields and seek strength. For example, if Sakura's weakness lies in strength, she should train herself every day. That's what it means," Iruka said.

Sakura smiled and quietly laughed.

"And if you have both Heaven and Earth attributes, any dangerous missions will become safe… It can even become easy," Iruka continued.

Sakura decided to interrupt. "What about that missing letter?" she asked.

Iruka smiled. "It's the letter that symbolizes a Chuunin." He lifted the Earth scroll. "The "human" letter that was in here goes in there. The survival mission you took part in these past five days tested the basic abilities of the examinees as a Chuunin. And you guys completed it. A Chuunin is a commander-class. He has a duty to lead a team. Deeply inscribe into your heart the importance of knowledge and strength in missions. Never forget that Chuunin principal, and go on to the next step. That's all I was ordered to tell you."

Naruto smiled and saluted Iruka. "Roger!" Naruto yelled. He then noticed that Iruka was looking down.

Iruka decided to help out Team Seven. "But don't push yourselves in the Third Exam. Especially you, Naruto. I'm worried about you, the…" he started to say.

"Iruka-sensei." Naruto interrupted. "When I got this Konoha forehead protector, I graduated from the academy." Naruto then smiled. "There's no need to worry." He then grabbed his forehead protector. "And this is the proof you gave me to show I'm not a child anymore, right, Iruka-sensei? I may still be restless, but I'm not a kid anymore. Right now… I'm a ninja."

Iruka took a moment to look at Naruto. 'He has changed,' he thought as he smiled. "I see. I'm sorry, Naruto," he said. He remembered back when he stood in front of Anko and beside Kakashi. He pleaded to be the one to talk to Team Seven. He remembered them asking questions about Naruto. Only to be silenced by the Hokage, who happened to pass through the hall at the time. He knew that Naruto had grown, but still Iruka felt responsible for Naruto, after all they had so many things in common. Iruka smiled. 'When he finally becomes the greatest… No one will deny who he truly is. Naruto Uzumaki, Sole heir to the First Line, Heir to the Hokuto Shin Ken and Nanto Shin Ken, Son of the Yondaime, Leader of all Kages. Naruto you have grown so much, I would like to see you grow.'

* * *

Author's Notes (Again): Well another chapter done, and it was a long one. For now, I am working on the Ranma/Andromeda and the Buffy/Naruto. But my primary focus is the Fist of Naruto. Check out the next chapter.

A question came up about how Naruto celebrated his birthday even though the Chuunin Exams were held in the spring. My reason is that I have recently seen the Jump DVD, however, I was not able to put them into the storyline. However, because these two adventures did occur, Team Seven was not able to be there during the previous exam. Plus, I decided that the last exam was in the Earth Country, which are not friends to Konoha. This meant that no ninjas could participate in the last exam, only the one before it.

Also, I know some people might not like that I did not have the Sound Team attack Team Seven, but in my opinion, the only reason for their attack was to test out Sasuke's dedication for more power.

Also, Naruto is trying to help out his team, even though he does not like them that much

Finally, I need some pre-readers to help with reading my story. I had some but they are no longer available. If your interested email me and let me know.

Next time on Fist of Naruto: Yes, the Second Exam is over… WHAT! We have to fight now? Wait a minute, why do I have to fight them!

Next episode: The Chuunin Exams Part 3 - The Preliminary fight begins. Naruto Vs….


	11. Chapter 10a

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul. 

Author's notes: My apologies to everyone, I am sorry for not being able to get this chapter out to you so quickly, but I have been looking for a new job, and that caused me to stall on all my other projects. Thank you for your patience.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 10

Part A

* * *

The Chuunin Exam:

Prelude to the Third Exam,

AKA

There are TOO'MANY people 'round 'ere

* * *

In The Hokage's tower.

* * *

Anko was in pain; the Hokage was looking at her seal. "How are you feeling? Does the cursed seal still hurt?" he said as he created some seals, which helped ease, her pain. 

"No, it's gotten better thanks to you," Anko said.

"Isn't Orochimaru one of the Sannin from the Konoha Legends?" Kotetsu said. "He's an S-Class exiled ninja from the bingo book that even ANBU couldn't deal with, right? I heard that he died, but…"

"Why would he come to this village now…?"

Anko remembered her "fight" with Orochimaru, how she tried to attack only to see him use the seal to his advantage. The "fight" was quick, too quick; Anko knew that Orochimaru liked to show off, so the "fight" was strange for her. "It's most likely beca-" Anko said.

"Sasuke, right?" the Hokage responded.

Anko nodded, "He said that it was Sasuke that he wants… however."

"Hmm," the Hokage said.

"I don't know he seemed distracted… and hurt," Anko said.

"WHAT!" the others said.

"What do you mean, Anko?" the Hokage asked.

"After he activated the seal, he taunted me with the reason why he was here, but while he was doing that it seemed as if he was thinking about something else." Anko said thoughtfully. "And after he left, I noticed blood on the ground where he once stood."

"Orochimaru was bleeding…" Kotetsu said. This was considered incredible, the reason being that Orochimaru was an S-class nuke-nin and one of the three Sannin, to injure someone of his caliber was considered almost unthinkable. Especially considered where he was.

"Do you think he faced someone more powerful in the forest?" Izumo asked looking at the Hokage.

It was then that a voice interrupted them. "Anko-sama. We have confirmed that 24 people passed the Second Exam. According to Chuunin regulations, we will have to do preliminary matches for the first time in five years. Second Exam has ended."

"Anyway, it is possible, we know little about some of the Genin. If one of them did injure Orochimaru, then we need to find out who," the Hokage said. "However, we need to continue as if there is nothing going on."

"But why, Hokage-sama?" Kotetsu said.

"Orochimaru is planning something, we know that it has to deal with the Chuunin Exam, but until we know more we can't act unless we know what to expect. Any move we make will be noticed and used as an excuse to everyone that we are weak," the Hokage said. "For now we wait. But alert everyone to keep their eyes and ears open. Go." Once they had left, the Hokage sat down on his seat. "Who do you think hurt Orochimaru?" he asked.

"Naruto, most likely," a voice said from behind the curtain. A hand reached out to move the curtain to reveal the voice to be Kenshiro. "He is strong enough to at least injure if not kill him."

"Are you sure?" the Hokage asked.

"His strength is a just under Tsunade, but above most Jounins. His skill is under that of a Jounin but above that of a Genin, he has a high intellect, which allows him to create new plans on the fly if the other plans fail. If he goes all even with the Nanto Shin Ken, it would be a good battle. But unless he uses the Hokuto Shin Ken or more specifically, its ultimate form, I don't think he will win." Ken stated. "However…"

"Huh?" the Sandaime asked.

"If Naruto taps into his heritage, it is possible that he could beat Orochimaru," Ken stated.

Sandaime gasped and nodded, he knew that Naruto was powerful but he never knew that he was that powerful. 'And at thirteen,' he thought. 'If he is able to tap into his heritage… Naruto there will be no peace for you. Too many people remember your father, if they find out about you…' the Sandaime bowed his head and covered his eyes with his hat. "Is he ready for that?"

Ken looked at Sandaime. He knew what the Sandaime was thinking, and he knew the problems that would come. "Not yet, but he will be," Ken said.

* * *

Team Seven stood with other teams that have passed the Second Exam; they were in a big room. In front of them were two arms, set in a seal, a billboard above it. In front of the arms were the Jounin that were leaders of the Genin teams. On the sides were Jounins and Genins, and in the center was the Hokage. It was then that Anko spoke. 

"First off congratulations on passing the Second Exam," Anko said. 'There were 84 people who took the Second Exam, and 24 were able to pass.' She thought. 'I said that I was going to make half drop out, but I was really thinking less than 10 would be left.' She then grinned.

It was during that time that the teams were looking at the other teams, some in happiness, while others were figuring out how to defeat them. Meanwhile, Gai spoke to Kakashi, "Your team is pretty good. Perhaps they were lucky." Gai then bowed his head. "But as long as my team is there, they can't go any further. Since, in the next stage, personal abilities will be critical. Youth is sweet and sour, and sometimes strict, Kakashi." He then turned to Kakashi.

Kakashi had heard what Gai had said, but his main focus was on Naruto. For the past few weeks he had been trying to gauge Naruto's abilities, but with little success. He turned to Gai and asked, "Hmm, you say something?"

Gai's jaw dropped and his eyes were wide open. "Oh, my god!" he said as he quickly turned, his arm flexed and his fist raised. 'That was pretty good, rival Kakashi,' he thought, as he became enflamed. 'That attitude is somewhat "modern", and pisses me off.'

Meanwhile Gai's genin team was looking on. 'Ehhh. So that's Gai-sensei's, eternal rival,' Tenten thought. 'Gai-sensei completely loses to him in looks, but…'

'Gai-sensei is the coolest one among the other teachers! He's shining!' Lee thought. 'All right.' "Just watch Gai-sensei… I will shine too!" Lee said as he remembered the fight he had in the forest. 'I never want to see the tears of an important person again… So, I will never lose again, Gai-sensei!'

'The ones that stand out are left just like I thought.' Neji thought. 'Uchiha Sasuke…'

Naruto felt something, and slowly gave a feral grin as he recognized what it was. 'I thought you would never show, Ken-sama. I hope I have made you proud,' he thought as he turned his head and used his eyes to look behind him. In the shadows, a fist appeared. Naruto nodded and turned around, not bothering to see it disappear again.

'So this many remained… and most of them are new. No wonder why they recommended them,' the Hokage thought. He then noticed Naruto's movement and looked behind the teams. 'There is something there but I can't tell what it is… Of course, only Naruto would know if Kenshiro-sama was here. I guess time hasn't made him sloppy.'

"We will now have an explanation of the Third Exam from Hokage-sama!" Anko exclaimed. "Everyone listen well!" She then turned to the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, please do the honors."

The Hokage nodded, "Yes." He stepped forward and cleared his throat. "The Third Exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you." He waited until it sunk into the remaining teams. "It's about the true purpose of this exam."

'True purpose?' Sakura thought.

"Why we do a joint exam with the allied nations. "To maintain good relations with the allied nations" and "heighten the level of the ninja"… Do not let those reasons deceive you. This "exam", so to speak, is…"

'So to speak?' Tenten thought.

The Hokage removed his pipe to exhale the smoke, and closed his eyes. He opened them and said, "The epitome of a war between the allied nations."

Everyone gasped save Naruto, Gaara, and Kabuto. "What do you mean?" Tenten asked.

The Hokage looked up. "If we go back through history, the allied nations right was… Neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight… That is the beginning of the Chuunin Selection Exam."

"Why do we have to do that?" Ino asked. "We're not doing this to select Chuunins?"

"Yes, this Exam does examine those who are worthy of the Chuunin title. But, on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja fight and carry their country's dignity." The Hokage explained.

"Country's dignity?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and ninja leaders will see your battles. If there's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them." The Hokage explained.

"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" Kiba demanded.

"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the ninja's power. And a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning… And your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chuunin Exam because of it." The Hokage answered.

"But why do you say it is to promote good relations?" Tenten asked.

"I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that. The custom of saving one's life and fighting to maintain balance… That is the good relation in the world of ninja. This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and village's dignity." The Hokage explained.

Gaara was pissed, "I do not care for the reason. Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."

The Hokage nodded, "Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but…"

Before the Hokage could continue a ninja appeared before the Hokage. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama," the ninja said as he was kneeling. "I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."

"Please do," the Hokage said.

Hayate arose from his kneeling position and said, "Everyone, it is nice to meet you." He then turned around. "Everyone, before the Third Exam… (cough, cough) There's something I want you to do." Hayate said only to be interrupted by a series of coughs. "Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance the Third Exam's main battle."

This caused everyone to look at Hayate amazed.

"Preliminary matches?" Sakura asked silently.

"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Shikamaru yelled.

Sakura tilted her body to get a better look at Hayate. "Sensei, I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches. Why can't we just start the Third Exam with the remaining examinees?"

Naruto silently groaned. 'I can't believe these people can't put it together,' he thought.

"In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Exam were too easy, I don't know… But there are too many examinees left. According to Chuunin regulations, we must decrease the number of participants for the Third Exam." Hayate said.

"No way!" Sakura exclaimed.

"As previously mentioned by Hokage-sama, there are many guests for the Third Exam, so… We cannot just have a lot of matches. We are limited on time, as well. So those who aren't feeling well…" Hayate began coughing.

'Are you okay…?' Ino thought.

'You seem to be the one who's not feeling well, Sensei.' Hinata thought.

"Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation… Please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately." Hayate said.

This alarmed many of the genins, as they spoke their minds.

"I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out, unless there are special circumstances. So please withdraw if you wish." Hayate said.

Finally a hand was raised. "Ano, I'll quit," Kabuto said, as everyone turned to look at Kabuto.

"Let's see…" Hayate said as he flipped through his notepad. "You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto-kun? You may leave."

"Hai." Kabuto said as he turned to leave.

Naruto watched as Kabuto turned to leave. 'He must be planning something, but what? I have to let the Old Man know about him.'

* * *

Meanwhile as Kabuto turned to leave, one of his teammates turned to him. "Don't act on your own," the teammate said silently. "Did you forget Orochimaru-sama's orders?" 

"I'll leave it to you two," Kabuto said. "Especially you, Yoroi-san… You will have no problem with your special ability. It's your chance to show what you're capable of."

"So you're Orochimaru-sama's favorit… Don't get cocky, kid." Yoroi said.

"Okay, Senpai." Kabuto replied. He then turned and walked away. As he did he turned to Naruto to see Naruto shaking and looking at him. Kabuto smiled, and waved goodbye. 'Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun… I wanted to play with you a little longer, but if I keep going on… The old blood in me might awaken. I'm a spy, even if I don't look like one. I can't let you see my true face here. Also, if you're going to watch it yourself, my information-gathering job is done, right… Orochimaru-sama? Let's save the fun for the future… Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, you two, too,' he thought as he walked away.

What no one save the Hokage and one other person saw was the blood that was coming from Naruto's shaking fists.

* * *

"May I assume there are no more people who wish to retire?" Hayate said. After getting no responses, Hayate continued, "Then, let's begin, the preliminary matches. They will be one-on-one matches save one… Which will be a one-on-one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combat. Now that we have 23 people, we will have 11 matches… And the winners will be able to advance to the Third Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out… Or admits defeat. If you do not want to die, please give up immediately. However, if I judge that the match is over… (cough) I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths. The thing that will hold your destiny…" Hayate then looked back. 

Anko nodded at the signal. She turned around and tapped her mike. "Open it," she said. Behind the hand seal, a panel opened up.

"Will be this," Hayate said once the panel was fully exposed. "This electronic bulletin board, will randomly display the names of the fighters for each match. Without further ado, I will now display the names for the first match."

Uchiha Sasuke vs. Akadou Yoroi

"Those whose names were displayed, step up." Hayate said.

Both ninjas approached.

* * *

Naruto waited until Sasuke pasted him by Naruto spoke. "Don't use your Sharingan." 

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Your Sharingan, you waste more chakra if you use it. Don't use it right away. Let your opponent wastes some of his chakra, that way you can stay in the fight longer." Naruto said as he walked away.

Sasuke grumbled, after hearing Naruto's explanation, he knew that Naruto was right. The Sharingan did take a lot of chakra from him, and since he did not know what his opponent could do, it would be best to be cautious.

Just as he approached the appointed area, Hayate spoke, "The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are they're any objections?" Hayate paused as he waited for any objections.

"No," Sasuke said.

"We will now begin the first match. (cough) Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there." Hayate said as he gestured toward the upper levels.

As the other genins began walking up to the upper level they were joined by their Jounin teachers. The Hokage walked next to Naruto and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "So I heard you did something special in the forest. How did it feel?" he asked.

Naruto smiled and said, "It was scary at first, but I can understand why my father did what he did. It is a powerful technique, and best used only on special occasions."

The Hokage nodded, "You do know that that wasn't his only technique, right?"

Naruto nodded again, "I can't wait to see what others that he had created. But I also know that he would want me to create new jutsus as well."

The Hokage smiled, he and Naruto were speaking in Chinese, which was an almost dead language. This meant that their conversation would be difficult to translate or understand. It helped protect Naruto, because there was still ears out there that would do harm to him if they knew who he was related to. 'And who has trained him,' the Hokage thought as they finally approached a comfortable place on the second level.

* * *

Once everyone was on the second level, Hayate spoke, "Begin." 

"Let's go," Yoroi said as he made a seal.

Sasuke got into a fighter's stance. 'Let's see how powerful you are,' he thought. He then saw Yoroi get into position, his right hand glowing with chakra. Sasuke noticed that Yoroi when for his pouch. Getting into position, Sasuke pulled out his kunai. Just as he pulled the kunai free, Yoroi attack by throwing three shurikens at him.

Sasuke batted all three shuriken straight towards Yoroi, when Yoroi dodged them, Sasuke launched his attack. Running toward Yoroi, he quickly slid and used his momentum to sweep Yoroi off his feet. Once Yoroi landed, Sasuke grabbed onto Yoroi's arm and placed it into an arm bar, while his feet landed onto of Yoroi's chest.

Sasuke smiled as he places pressure on the arm bar. He knew that it was painful, and if Yoroi did not yield, then he would hear his arm break.

Yoroi, however, had different plans. He quickly enabled his technique and grabbed Sasuke. Once he grabbed on, he smiled as he saw Sasuke's stunned expression. He then raised his arm and slammed it down on Sasuke's chest. After that he jumped away.

* * *

Naruto was stunned, 'That man must be able to drain a person's strength,' he thought as he used the Suieishin to see how it was accomplished. 'It's not a technique, it's somehow a part of him, and yet not…' Thinking quickly Naruto drew a conclusion. 'He's been tampered with, someone must have experimented on him to allow him to do that… Only those that truly don't care about another person can do such a thing.' Naruto felt anger coming from the depths of his soul. To be experimented on meant that the person would be tested, probed, and used in painful experiments. To do that on another human being meant that the "doctor" cared not for the patient but only the result. That thought made Naruto sick to his stomach. 'No one should have to deal with that kind of pain.' Naruto then saw that Sasuke was not able to react in time as he was being drained of even more of his chakra. He then noticed that Lee was next to him. Naruto smiled, 'Let's give Sasuke an 'idea',' he thought.

* * *

Sasuke wouldn't admit it but he was having a hard time. Yoroi had already drained most of his chakra, and if he used the Sharingan there was a strong possibility that he would not be able to survive. He had to think quickly or else he would lose the fight. He began dodging hoping to come up with something that would help him. A quick brush against his hair by Yoroi hurt Sasuke more as his chakra was drained again. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'the bastard only needs to connect with any part of me in order to drain my chakra. I have to think of something or else I won't make it.' 

"Sasuke! You call yourself Uchiha Sasuke with that!" Naruto shouted. This caught Sasuke's attention as he turned to stare at Naruto. However, once he saw Lee standing next to Naruto, and Naruto's smile, he quickly understood.

'I only have one shot at this. I better make it count,' Sasuke thought as he saw Yoroi approach. After dodging a couple of swipes Sasuke smiled.

Yoroi smiled as he thought he had Sasuke, only to see him disappear. As everyone else gasped, he turned his head to see if Sasuke had leapt out of the way. Or at least he tried, as a foot shot up under his chin and launched him into the air.

Sasuke quickly got on all fours and launched himself into the air. As he approached Yoroi from behind, he spoke, "From here on out, it's all original, though." He placed his hand on Yoroi's back, and began his attack. When Sasuke pushed Yoroi he allowed his first kick was blocked by Yoroi, but as Yoroi pushed the kick back, Sasuke used the momentum to propel himself to the other side of Yoroi and allowed him to perform a backhanded punch toward Yoroi's face. The punch allowed Sasuke to turn and send a second punch into the stomach of Yoroi. However, as they approached the ground, Sasuke yelled, "I'm not done!" With that he performed a stomp kick onto Yoroi's stomach, and yelled, "Shishi Rendan!" The force sent Sasuke flying back as Yoroi collapsed. Sasuke then slowly stood up as Hayate walked toward Yoroi.

'There's no need to confirm it,' Hayate thought as he approached Yoroi. "I will stop this match now," Hayate said as he stood up. "The first match winner is Uchiha Sasuke. This means he passes the preliminary round."

Sakura cheered as she heard the news, Naruto smiled. Sasuke stood and walked up to the second level. As he walked toward his group, he thought, 'Lee, I was able to win thanks to you. If I didn't see your move up close, I would've been done for.' He then remembered the fight.

* * *

Once Sasuke got to his group, Hayate spoke, " Now we will begin the next match." 

The board displayed as series of names before settling on two.

Gozu vs. Aburame Shino

Hayate then called out, "Fighters step forward."

Once they approached, Hayate continued, "We will now begin the second match."

Both fighters got into their fighting stance. Hayate stepped back and said, "Begin."

* * *

Once, Hayate had said that, both fighters reacted quickly. Shino attempted a punch toward Gozu. But before Shino could reach Gozu, Gozu pulled out a scroll and ripped it in half. This unleashed an enormous wave of water, which Shino dodged. However, before Shino could attack again, Gozu performed a series of seals. "Kiri Gakure no Jutsu!" Gozu cried out was a dense mist covered the arena. 

Shino seeing the mist unleashed his Kikai Bugs to scatter and search for Gozu. As they scattered, Gozu retired into a puddle and watched Shino. After a few minutes Gozu got tired of waiting and attacked Shino with his claw, this cause the mist to dissipate as his claw slashed Shino. Everyone saw Shino get slashed by the claw. Team Seven knew that Gozu covered his claw with poison, and the slash appeared to have a major affect to Shino, as Shino staggered back and collapsed.

* * *

Everyone gasped as they saw Shino go down, everyone save Naruto. He was looking at Gozu… or rather behind him.

* * *

Gozu smiled as he saw Shino go down, he knew that the poison in his claw would not kill Shino but would incapacitate him long enough for a win. He was about to turn to Hayate when he saw Shino disappear in a cloud of bugs. "WHAT!" Gozu cried as he looked around to find out where Shino was. It was then that he realized that the Kikai Bugs had surrounded him. Wasting little time, Gozu quickly performed several hand seals, but before he could call out the jutsu, Shino appeared by his side and attacked with a back fist punch that sent Gozu into the cloud of bugs. Shino quickly performed hand seals, and cried out, "Kikaichu no Jutsu!" This caused the cloud of bugs to fall upon Gozu and drain him of chakra. As soon as it was done the Kikai bugs returned to Shino, leaving Gozu unconscious. 

Hayate went to Gozu's side. "Gozu is unable to fight. The winner of this round is Aburame Shino." With that said, a stretcher came out and took Gozu away while Shino returned to the second floor.

* * *

Hayate coughed and said, "The next fighters are…" The board spun with names until finally settling on two. 

Abumi Zaku vs. Temari

"Fighters step forward." Hayate waited until they were in position. Everyone noticed that Zaku was had both his arms wrapped and resting on straps from his necks.

As Hayate was about to speak, Zaku interrupted. "Quit now, save yourself from embarrassment."

Temari raised an eyebrow, "Ooooohhh? And what can you do to make me embarrassed?"

Zaku smiled, "Your fan, you obviously use wind, well so do I, and I use supersonic waves as well. There is no way that you can beat me."

Temari gave a dark smile. "I will enjoy putting you in your place," she said as she pulled out her fan and placed it on the ground parallel to her.

* * *

Naruto decided to watch this fight intensely. He had heard from Sakura about Zaku's ability, and with Zaku's declaration about Temari's ability. He wanted to see how powerful she was. 

**"IT ALSO HELPS THAT SHE HAS A NICE LOOKING CHEST,"** the Kyuubi said suddenly.

'Shut up, Ero-Kyu!' Naruto thought loudly, and he shook his head, attempting to rid the thoughts that Kyuubi was sending into his head.

**"NO WAY KID, YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE HOW TO GET IT ON WITH THE LADIES IF YOU WANT TO RESTORE YOUR CLAN. MY SUGGESTION IS TO GET AS MANY AS YOU CAN. HEHEHEHEHEHEHE…"**

Naruto shook his head, 'Stupid, Ero-Kyu-chan.'

**"DON'T CALL ME KYU-CHAN!"** the Kyuubi yelled.

To which Naruto grabbed his head and began banging it against the bar. This caused everyone to look at him. Naruto finally staggered back, his eyes whirling. After a headshake, he noticed everyone staring at him. Placing a hand behind his head, he laughed nervously and said, "Gomen, I just wanted the song in my head to end. heheheheh!

Anything else was stopped as Hayate spoke.

* * *

"Begin." 

Zaku responded instantly by launching his left hand toward Temari. "Zankuha!" The airwave ran quickly toward Temari, it then hit. The explosion causes many to turn their heads. Naruto was not one of those people.

'She's good, I wonder if Zaku knows where she is,' he thought.

As the dust cleared, there was only a blast site, but no sign of Temari. As everyone looked around the ring, Naruto lean back and looked up.

"What are you doing, dobe?" Sasuke said.

"Just waiting until everyone realizes where she is," Naruto said calmly, while gazing skyward.

Sasuke wondering where Naruto was looking at followed his gaze right up to… Temari? He gasped in amazement as the others soon realized where Temari was. However that realization came too late for Zaku.

Before Zaku could look up, Temari was already in action. Flipping off her fan, she grabbed the end of it and straight down where Zaku was. Zaku, quickly moved away but was suddenly caught in a gust of wind that sent him skyward. Before he could move his arms forward to launch another attack, he heard Temari call out.

"Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"

Suddenly a great barrel of wind slammed down on Zaku cutting him up while forcing him down to the ground. Once it was over, Zaku slowly got back up. Once up, he quickly raised his arms and was about to yell out an attack, when he saw the bar of Temari's fan. It was the last thing he saw, as it hit him in the head and forced it down to the ground. When Temari raised her fan up, everyone could see that Zaku was unconscious.

Hayate coughed and said, "The winner of the match, Temari."

* * *

"The next opponents are…" Hayate said as the board ran through the names. It finally stopped with two names displayed. 

Kankurou vs. Tsurugi Misumi

"Will both Nins please step forward," Hayate said.

* * *

Naruto watched as both Nins walked forward. 'I know what Kankurou's ability is but how will that help him?' Naruto thought, as the battle got under way.

* * *

When the two Nins approached, Misumi spoke, "Unlike Yoroi, I won't go easy on you just because you're a kid. Let me warn you. Once my move gets a hold of you, it's over. Then give up. I will finish this quickly, too." 

Kankurou removed his package from his back and responded, "Then… I'll finish the match quickly, too."

Finally Hayate spoke, "Then… Now, begin the fourth match."

Misumi responded, "I won't let you do anything." He then charged and said, "Victory goes to the swiftest!" He made a quick strike, which Kankurou blocked. However, what came next surprised everyone, as the arm seemed to twist around Kankurou's arm. But that was only the beginning of the attack as Misumi wrapped his other arm and legs around Kankurou, quickly immobilizing him.

* * *

Sasuke watched with interest as he used his Sharingan to look at the attack. 'Interesting he removed his joints to give his some liquidity. However, he is using a lot of chakra to keep his body from losing it's integrity.' 

Naruto, however, had a much different thought in mind. 'Idiot, he must be using his chakra for different purpose. That will end up biting him in the rear end.'

* * *

Misumi repeated what Sasuke thought out loud to let Kankurou know how bad his position was. He then added, "That's why I can strangle you until your bones break. Unless you give up, I will continue strangling you." Misumi then turned to the package. "I don't know what kind of tool you use… But there's no point to it if I immobilize your body like this. I can break your neck as well. Hurry up and give up." 

Kankurou smiled. "No," he said.

"Do you want to die?" Misumi asked.

"Idiot, you're the one who's going to die." Kankurou said as he turned his head. A sudden sickening crack was heard, and with that Kankurou's head bowed down.

* * *

Everyone save six people looked in amazement. They had just seen a Nin die in front of them. Each had their own thoughts, most of them were morbid. However, Temari, Biau, Gaara, the Hokage and Neiji watched with indifference. The final one, Naruto, kept hitting his head on the rail. Sakura finally had enough and pounded on him with her fist. 

"Naruto! What are you doing! Don't be such an idiot!" she said.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, and got up. "Gomen, Sakura," he said as he went to the railing again.

* * *

"Damn it, you idiot. I got carried away and broke it." Misumi said as he began releasing his hold. As he did some thing fell to the ground. Misumi turned to look and saw paint flecks. Before he could react, Kankurou raised his head and turned it to Misumi. Misumi was stunned as he saw were the paint flecks came from. "What?" he said in shock, as he saw the wooden face under the Kakuro mask. 

"Now, it's my turn," the wooden puppet said. Arms started shooting out of its body and wrapped itself around Misumi. Once secure, it began to tighten its grip and raise it's head. Revealing a wooden puppet.

"A Marionette!" Misumi exclaimed.

It was then that the bundle began to move. Ever slowly a hand came out of the bundle, once out, however, it quickly pulled on a strap. This unleashed the bindings of the package to reveal… Kankurou?

'That was the real one?' Misumi thought as he looked at one of Kankurou's hands. 'He's a puppeteer…'

While others thought out loud about this new predicament, Naruto sat down and continued to watch. He noticed the smile on Kankurou's face. 'Well, it will all be over soon,' he thought.

"I give…" Misumi was about to say as the puppet squeezed hard and began breaking bones.

"You can become softer if I break your bones." Kankurou said.

With that Misumi dropped to the ground.

'That was close, I was about to stop the match,' Hayate thought. "Since his opponent is unable to fight, the winner is Kankurou."

* * *

Hayate called for a short break to let everyone go to the restroom. This was a relief to many as they were about ready to burst, Akamaru especially. 

Sakura went to the restroom. While walking, she thought, 'Everyone is remarkable at using their Chakra. I thought I was pretty good at using mine, but…' She stopped herself as she realized that she was at the sink. Turning on the water, she ran some water across her face, removing some of the grime that she had picked up when she was in the forest. She then realized that she wasn't alone. She turned her head slightly and said, "Ino!"

The blonde haired rival of Sakura's looked at Sakura. "You're scared, aren't you, Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura was about to say something, when she realized that Ino was telling the truth. Granted she knew a little from what Naruto had given her, but she was unsure of herself.

"All those people carried away. If you fight in these preliminary matches I can't imagine what will happen to you." Ino said. "You should retire."

Sakura stared hard into the mirror; she brushed her hair when she realized that she no longer had her long hair. Remembering how she had cut her hair and the resulting attack, she stalled, as she remembered how she had gotten into that predicament. Or more precisely how she had helped in her earlier fight. She steeled herself. Raising her head, she thought, 'It's okay. I can do my best in this, too.' She looked at Ino in the mirror. "Retire? Who's going to do that?" she asked. She turned and walked toward the exit. She stopped next to Ino and turned her head. "Actually, I can't wait for my turn," she said looking at Ino. She walked away. As she walked away, she could feel her Inner Sakura rise up and exclaim. "All right! Bring it on, damn it!"

* * *

Hayate coughed, which brought everyone's attention to him. "Moving along. We will begin the fifth match." 

The board once again flashing names.

* * *

On the second floor

* * *

Naruto was bored… And when he got bored, he starts to complain. "Geez, everyone is such a weirdo," he said. 

Sakura had come back from the restroom and heard Naruto's comment.

"And you're not?" Kakashi replied.

Sakura smiled, "That's right."

Naruto looked shocked at Kakashi and Sakura, 'Good,' he thought, 'Having Ino talk to her cheered her up.' He then frowned and exclaimed, "Not you too, Sakura?"

Sakura began to chuckle but before it could continue, Kakashi placed his hand on her shoulder.

"This isn't the time to be laughing," he said as he pointed to the board. Sakura turned and saw what was displayed, in shock.

Haruno Sakura vs. Meizu

* * *

"Will both fighters please enter the arena," Hayate said.

* * *

Sakura was nervous; she had seen what Meizu could do. She knew that he was a powerful Nin. So what could she do? 

Naruto waited until she passed him by. "Sakura," he said, getting Sakura's attention. "You are better now, than you were when you first faced him. Remembered what you have learned from Kakashi-sensei, and the scroll I gave you. They will help you out."

Sakura dumbly nodded, as she continued on her way.

Sasuke had heard what Naruto had said to her. 'What scroll?' he thought as he watched Sakura walk toward the battleground.

* * *

Sakura began running through scenarios like the scroll had said. She knew that Meizu had a fighting style similar to his brother. She also knew that he would likely have poisoned his claw that he wore. She finally review what Gozu had used in his fight, and if both brothers had trained with Zabuza. 'Then both would have some of the same techniques that Zabuza used in his fight with Kakashi,' she finished her thought. 

She took her hands and placed them to her side. She used one reached into her satchel and the other to reach into her kunai pouch. She then grabbed the necessary items and waited for the match to begin.

* * *

Meizu was happy to be facing Sakura, from his fight before he knew that she was the one that was most unprepared in fighting an opponent. 'However,' he thought as he glanced at Naruto. 'I don't know if she was trained by him or if she ignored his help.' Shaking his head, he realized that he was making a mistake, from what he had seen previously, the girl in front of him tended to focus more on the Uchiha heir then on Naruto. 'Which means that she will not accept his help, since she feels it would not help her in her crush for that boy.' Meizu grinned, 'This will be easier than I thought.' He then got into position with one of his clawed hands stretched out in front of him.

* * *

"Begin," Hayate said. 

As soon as those words were uttered Meizu charged toward Sakura, he threw his clawed hands back and threw them forward in an X-shaped attack. However, Sakura would not be there to take the attack.

As soon as he came within one and a half arms length, Sakura jumped high into the air, pulling out a smoke bomb with her left hand she threw it toward the ground, causing the smoke bomb to explode. Her right hand pulled out a tag that she threw toward the back of Meizu.

Meizu saw that his attack had failed realized that he needed to be wary of his opponent. He quickly turned around to see the tag coming toward him. Thinking that it was an explosive tag, he pulled out a kunai and threw it at the tag, hoping that it would be sent back toward Sakura. However as soon as the kunai hit the tag, it did explode, but it was not an explosive tag. The kunai cut into it causing the tag to reveal itself to be a scroll, which then burst and sent a shower of black substance toward Meizu.

This shocked Meizu and left him open to the substance being splashed on him. But as the goo settled, Meizu burst to reveal it to be a Mizu Bushin. Sakura smiled and quickly went created a Bushin, since she knew that Meizu would use this time to attack her. Changing herself into a kunai she faked herself being thrown toward the Mizu Bushin, causing the kunai to land away in the middle of black substance. Meizu did as she expected him too. He attacked the Bushin only to see it disappear. He landed on the other side of the black substance and saw the kunai change into Sakura.

* * *

'Amazing,' Kakashi thought, 'She used the same technique that Naruto used to distract her opponent.' Kakashi thought back to the fight with Zabuza. 'But what is that black substance?'

* * *

Meanwhile Naruto had walked over to Sasuke's side. "Interesting little act isn't it. Kinda reminds you of another fight, huh?" Naruto said with a smirk on his face as he heard Sasuke grumble. 'Good, this will allow Sasuke to think that Sakura has changed to be a part of this team, and not a person that is holding him back.' 

Meanwhile, some of other Leaf Nins were shocked and amazed that Sakura was fighting at the level that she was.

'Sugoi, Sakura-san,' Lee thought, 'Your Springtime of Youth has really flourished.'

'This can't be Sakura!' Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru thought.

'Since when did she become this strong?' Kiba, Shino, and Sasuke thought.

Sasuke then turned toward Naruto to see him smile. 'What did you teach her?' he thought.

* * *

Sakura was taking some deep breaths, she knew that this would be the first part of the battle but if she was not careful it could be the last. 'Especially if this next part fails,' she thought as she began making hand seals. 

Meizu saw this and lunged at her hoping to throw her off but as soon as his foot touched the black substance he lost his footing and fell down.

"What!" he exclaimed as he attempted to get up but failed. "OIL!"

It was then that Sakura finished her seal, "Ninpon!" she exclaimed, "Inner Mind Outer Body no Jutsu!" After saying that she collapsed on the ground…

* * *

"WHAT!" Everyone but Naruto exclaimed. 

'The oil was a good idea, it allowed her the chance to finish her seals but what kind of jutsu caused you to collapse on the ground,' Kakashi thought.

It was then that Sakura's body exploded with chakra.

'What is going on!' many Nins thought.

'Good, I was right about her, it will be interesting to see what happens now,' a blonde-haired heir thought as he saw the chakra explosion.

* * *

The explosion of chakra caused everyone to look at Sakura, Hayate could only gasp as the chakra began taking shape. 'It's a good thing I didn't call for the end of the match,' he thought. 

Then suddenly, Sakura's chakra formed into an outline of… herself? With the words "Inner Sakura" proclaimed on her forehead she arose from Sakura's position.

Meizu, who had finally gotten out of black substance, could only look on stunned. 'Fuck, I knew I should have accounted for the fact that she is on his team. This is going to hurt,' he thought as he launched a chain at the chakra form only to see it go through the form.

Inner Sakura awoke, her eyes focused on Meizu. _"ALRIGHT! I AM FINALLY FREE! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_ she said. She then pulled out one of Sakura's kunais and lunged at Meizu.

Meizu could only stop the kunai but when he tried to attack the form his fist passed through it. However, when the formed attacked with her fist, Meizu felt as if he was hit by a fist-sized rock… very hard. He attempted to dodge but as he did, the form increased her speed to the point where he could not keep up. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the form uppercut him into the air. However, by that time, Meizu was thankfully unconscious, as he landed hard on the ground and did not get up.

Inner Sakura saw that she had won, and she immediately began jumping up and down with joy. She raised one of her hands into the air and waved a victory sign in the air. As soon as she calmed down she turned to Sasuke and gave him a wink and an overemphasized air kiss.

Sasuke could only sweatdrop as Naruto roared with laughter and began rolling on the floor.

Inner Sakura's form dissipated and Sakura awoke.

Hayate coughed, and said, "Winner, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura smiled and pulled out a scroll, placing it on the oil; she made some hand seals and sealed away the oil. She then walked up to the second floor, where her team smiled and congratulated her on a job well done.

Kakashi smiled. 'I knew that Naruto and Sasuke had gotten stronger, but I didn't expect unreliable Sakura to become stronger as well,' he thought. 'A lot has happened, but I am glad, from the bottom of my heart, that I entered them in the Chuunin Exam…'

Naruto saw Kakashi's face and heard the small sigh. 'So he didn't expect this from Sakura. Well so much for my father's student. I would have thought that he would have learned more from my father. Especially about being there for people. Well, I suppose I could teach him that… Later maybe,' he thought as he smiled and waved at Sakura.

* * *

Hayate coughed again to get everyone's attention. "The next match will begin." 

The board scrolled through the remaining names. It slowed down to show two names.

Yamanaka Ino vs. Tenten

Ino gasped as she looked at the board.

"Will both fighters please come to the floor," Hayate said.

As soon as both fighters approached, Tenten could only smile. 'I'm getting psyched since that last match,' she thought.

Hayate nodded. "Begin," he said.

* * *

Meanwhile on the second floor

* * *

"Fight! Tenten!" Lee shouted. 

"Believe in your power, Tenten!" Gai shouted.

"Tenten! We're with you! Fight with everything you have!"

"That's it! Show your spirit!"

"YES SIR!"

**"DAMN IT KIT! SHUT THEM UP! THEY ARE GETTING ON MY NERVE!"** the Kyuubi exclaimed.

Naruto was putting his hands over his ears trying to keep the yelling down. He quickly grabbed a pair of earplugs and placed them into his ears. He quickly moved away from Lee and Gai.

**"THANK KAMI! I THOUGH I WOULD HAVE TO TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN PAWS,"** the Kyuubi said.

'Give them a break, they are cheering for their teammate,' Naruto defended them.

**"OOOOH! IS THAT WHY YOU DECIDED TO MOVE TO AWAY?"** the Kyuubi asked.

Naruto grumbled.

* * *

Back on the ground

* * *

Ino was frantic, she knew that she was facing an older and therefore more experienced Nin. She could not think of a way to fight against her. 'I could use my technique, but how can I get her to stay still.' 

Meanwhile, Tenten was feeling pretty good, 'The previous fight really invigorated me. It's too bad that I have such a weak opponent, though.'

Ino went into a taijutsu stance. Tenten looked and grinned, 'A basic stance, that means that she only has standard taijutsu training.' Tenten pulled out a kunai. 'Let's see how she does at blocking.'

When both were set, Hayate coughed and said, "Begin."

* * *

Tenten saw how nervous Ino was and smiled. She launched herself back and began throwing kunais at Ino. 

Ino squawked and lunged out of the way of the kunais. She intentionally lunged forward, and used that momentum to charge at Tenten. As she charged she threw smoke bombs, to help confuse Tenten.

Tenten smiled as she saw Ino charged, when the smoke bombs exploded, she quickly threw shurikens to where Ino last was as well as to Ino's right and left side. 'Just in case, she decided to move in another direction,' Tenten thought. She was awarded with a sharp painful yelp. Tenten smiled as she pulled out more shurikens and launched them at the yelp. "Nice try, but next time, do not make a sound. It gives away your position," Tenten said as the smoke began to dissipate. She was amazed when she did not see Ino. "Where?" she asked as she looked around thinking that Ino had moved in another direction. After a quick look, she found that Ino was nowhere to be found. "Kuso!" she cried as she looked down.

Kneeling down at an angle was Ino who was smiling. "Gotcha!" Ino said as she finished her last seal. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" she cried. Ino went slack and collapsed to the ground, while Tenten dropped her head.

Slowly, Tenten raised her head and then her arm. "I quit," she said.

"The winner is Yamanaka Ino" Hayate said.

* * *

On the second floor

* * *

Gai and Lee could not believe what had just happened. Lee yelled furiously at Tenten why Gai began crying about the injustice. 

Naruto shook his head, 'Neither of them could believe that Ino just forced Tenten to quit. It is amazing that Ino knew that she was out matched, however, she quickly formulated a successful plan. By distracting Tenten with that noise, she made Tenten believe that she was injured. This caused Tenten to continue her volley of shuriken in the hopes to get Ino to quit. However, what Tenten did not know was that Ino used her momentum to slide and thereby get close enough so that her technique would work more effectively.' He turned back to Hayate who coughed to get everyone's attention.

* * *

"The next two will be…" 

Once again the board rolled through the names finally settling on two names.

Nara Shikamaru vs. Kin Tsuchi

"Will both Nins please come forward," Hayate said.

As Shikamaru walked up, he said, "Me, eh?"

"Shikamaru! Don't lose! Show us that you're the man!" Ino yelled.

Naruto decided to join, "Yeah, Yeah!"

"Beat the other guy up with a 16-hit combo!" Ino continued.

'Ino's gotten more energetic,' Chouji thought.

"Go! Shikamaru! Win!" Ino yelled.

* * *

Meanwhile

The Sound Team

* * *

"He controls the shadow," Dosu said to Kin. "Be careful of the shadows." 

Kin looked down for a second, but when she looked back up her face took on an evil glare. "I won't fall for that stupid technique," she said as she walked toward the stairs.

* * *

On the battleground

* * *

The two Nins were staring at each other. Meanwhile Ino continued her shouts of encouragement. "Shikamaru! Beat her up!" 

"How troublesome… On top of that, it's going to be tough dealing with a girl," Shikamaru said.

"Then I'll end the match quickly," Kin replied.

'Actually, I do know the abilities of these guys from the Second Exam incident… But I have no idea what kind of techniques she uses. On top of that, she saw my technique," Shikamaru thought as Hayate said, "Seventh Match."

'And I only have…' Shikamaru thought.

"Shikamaru vs. Kin," Hayate continued. "Begin."

"… this," Shikamaru said as he got into position.

"You can only use one thing like an idiot?" Kin said.

Shikamaru's forehead throbbed as a vein appeared. "Ninpo, Kage Mane no Jutsu!" he said.

Kin quickly moved, "As long as I look at your shadow movement, I have nothing to fear from that technique!" she said as she dodged the shadow. She threw two Senbons while she dodged.

Shikamaru saw the needles and quickly dropped down letting the needles to pierce the wall behind him. As they passed, he heard two bells ring. He turned to see that the needles had bells at the end of them. "Bells?" he asked as he turned back toward Kin. "That's a pretty classic trick. Next you're going to throw a needle with a bell and one without a bell, right? If I react to the sound of the bell and dodge it… I'm not going to notice the needle without the bell, and it'll hit me. Right?"

Kin charged at Shikamaru, "You talk too much!" she said as she threw some more needles.

"I just have to be careful and not fall for your Shadow Needle technique…" Shikamura said as he dodged some of the needles.

Suddenly one of the needles began to ring.

"What?" Shikamaru said as he heard the bells behind him ring. He turned to see the previous needles still on the wall, but moving. It was then that he saw what was making the bells ring. "A string," he said.

Kin grinned as she saw that Shikamaru was distracted.

"Shoot," Shikamaru said, but it was already too late.

Kin threw her needles directly at him. "Too late," she yelled.

Seeing that there was no way to dodge, he quickly used his arms to block the Senbon needles. Unfortunately, the power behind the needles forced him to fall back.

* * *

"Shikamaru!" Ino and Chouji yelled as they saw their teammate get hit by the needles. They had thought that Shikamura was injured. 

Naruto looked at them for a moment, and said, "Just watch."

Ino and Chouji soon found out what he was talking about. They were soon relieved to see Shikamaru slowly stand up.

* * *

Shikamaru pulled out the Senbon needles from his arm, "Shit," he said as he pulled out the needles, "I barely dodged the critical hit." He then turned toward Kin. "Now," he said, "It's my turn." 

Kin smiled and said, "I won't let you." With that she raised her hand and pulled the string. With the pull the bells rang.

At first Shikamaru wasn't paying attention to the ringing until he found he could not move his arms. He began feeling distorted and unbalanced. "What's going on…?" he asked as he fell to his knees. He raised his head and looked at Kin.

Kin chuckled as she saw Shikamaru fall. "Those who listen to the sound of the bells become like that," she said. "The vibration from the sound of this special bell works directly on the eardrum up to the brain. Then, it will show you an illusion," she continued. Seeing that Shikamaru covered his ears, she continued, "That's useless. You can't shut out my bell's sound with that."

It was then that Shikamaru saw Kin begin to split into many Kins. "You can't," they said. "Damn it, which one is the real one?" he asked as he looked at the group.

"You can't move at all, huh?" the Kins said to Shikamaru. "You don't even know where to stretch your only hope, your shadow." They raised their hand to reveal three needles. "Now I will tenderize you slowly," they said.

Shikamaru raised his head, "Damn it, she's underestimating me," he said. He saw the Kins raise their hand and throw the Senbon needles. He raised his arms to block her needles, which flung him back again.

"Now I'll throw five. Next, seven. I will continue until you look like a hedgehog," they said.

Shikamaru looked at the group of Kins. "You deceitful wench. You said you would end this match quickly," he said.

"I see. You're in so much pain that you want to be relieved of it quickly," she paused, "Then I'll finish you off with this," she said as she raised three more Senbon needles. 'It's the end,' she thought, as she was about to get ready. It was then that she realized that something g was wrong. Her hand started to pull away. "What!" she said as the illusion ended. "My body…" she said as she heard Dosu gasp.

Shikamaru slowly stood up. "Maaaannnn," he said. "My Shadow limitation technique finally succeeded.

Kin could not believe what was going on. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "Your shadow is nowhere near me," she continued as she looked around for the shadow.

Shikamaru grinned, "You still haven't noticed?" he asked.

"Did he…" she started to say as she realized what was going on.

"Just as you assumed, baka," Shikamaru continued as the shadow of her wires began to fluctuate. "There's no way a string about that height will make a shadow. I can stretch and shrink my shadow," Shikamaru said clinically.

Kin cursed, "Damn it, his shadow's getting fatter and fatter. This wasn't the shadow of the string?"

"Yes, I thinned and stretched out my shadow to make it look like the shadow of the string. Then I attached it to you," Shikamura said. He pointed at Kin and saw her do the same.

"But how are you going to win now?" she asked. "All I'm going to do is move the same way you move."

Shikamaru frowned, "Shut up, and just watch." He went for his shuriken pouch, and Kin did the same.

Kin was stunned, "Are you stupid? If you attack like that, you're going to get hurt, too," she said as both she and Shikamaru pulled out a shuriken.

"I know," Shikamaru replied as he went into a shuriken-throwing stance.

* * *

'So that's his plan, interesting… Of course given his laziness, I would have expected as much.' Naruto thought as he watched.

* * *

Kin was stunned, "Are you planning to…?" 

"We're going to stab each other with our shuriken now," Shikamaru said. "How long will we last?"

"Stop this nonsense!" Kin yelled as they threw their shuriken.

Everyone watched in baited breath as the shuriken flew toward the fighters. Then Shikamaru made the first move by falling backwards to dodge the shuriken.

'He was bluffing…" Kin thought as she too follow suit. However, it would be the last thing she thought as she hit her head against the wall behind her.

Everyone stared at what had just happened, it was interrupted by two peoples laughter. They turned to Shikamaru, who said, "One down." He quickly got back onto his feet. The others then turned to the other one that was laughing, which was Naruto. He smiled and waved at everyone, causing them to sweatdrop.

Shikamaru smiled as he continued, "Ninjas need to grasp the landscape and the situation, then fight. Even if we move the same, our distances to the walls are different. I used the shuriken to get your attention away from the wall."

* * *

"The winner is Nara Shikamaru," Hayate said. "The next two will be…" 

The board ran through the names finally settling on two names.

Akimichi Chouji vs. Inuzuka Kiba

"YOSH!" Kiba exclaimed. "I get the easy one."

"Oi, Chouji, you're in trouble." Shikamaru said. "You have Kiba to deal with."

"I don't want to do it, can't I quit?" Chouji said as he looked at Kiba's excitement.

"That means…" Asuma started as he saw his team look toward him. "You won't be enjoying the all-you-can-eat BBQ!"

"What! But I want that…!" Chouji exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Asuma said. "If things look bad, I'll stop the match. Okay? You can eat expensive cow tongues and gal bi…"

'Don't motivate him with food,' Ino thought.

'You can't stop a match by interfering that will cause him to lose,' Shikamaru thought.

With that Chouji's eyes became enflamed, he quickly stood up and yelled out at the top of his voice. "Bar-b-q! Barbeque, here I come! All-you-can-eat!"

'Geez, bribing him with food, how low can you go?' both Shikamaru and Naruto thought.

* * *

Both fighters approached the battlefield. Chouji's eyes were still enflamed, while Kiba was excited for getting an easy win. 

Kiba, however, soon made the dumbest remark any one could towards Chouji. "Hey, lard-ass quit now and walk away without losing."

Chouji's ears twitched, while Naruto, Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura all looked in disbelief. 'I can't belief he just said that,' they all thought.

"What did you say?" Chouji asked, "I couldn't hear you."

It was then that Kiba realized just what he had said and to whom he had said it to. 'Idiot, you know better that to provoke him. Especially after the last time,' he thought as he saw the flames in Chouji's eyes increase in intensity.

Chouji quickly went into a boxer stance, and waited. Kiba knew that he had to work fast; he set Akamaru down and reached into his pouch getting a soldier pill ready for Akamaru.

"Begin," Hayate said.

Instantly, both fighters went into action. Kiba was able to toss the soldier pill to Akamaru before he was sent flying by Chouji's charging fist. Once Chouji saw that Kiba had staggered back he began making hand seals. Once he was done, he cried out, "Baika no jutsu!" With that his body expanded to form a large ball shape, Chouji quickly inserted his arms, legs, and head into his body.

Kiba saw what was happening and quickly began making his seals, just as Chouji began his attack Kiba finished his seals, and cried, "Juju Bushin!" This caused Akamaru to form into a clone of Kiba. It was just in time to as Chouji charged at Kiba, causing him to jump out of the way. Realizing that he wouldn't get another shot, Kiba and Akamaru quickly charged toward Chouji. "Garoga!" Kiba cried as he and Akamaru began to spin at an incredible rate.

Chouji met the charge straight on. The result was a three-way attack, which went connected sent each of the fighters to separate areas.

* * *

Up on the second floor

* * *

Naruto raised his eyebrow, 'Interesting...' he thought. 'Because each attack focuses on spinning at a tremendous amount of speed, if the attacks met it would cause the fighters to fly away from each other. Chouji's moment would force Kiba and Akamaru down. While their attack, because the rotation is similar would cause Chouji to the right of them. The only way either of them could win now would be who has the greater stamina.'

* * *

Back to the battle field

* * *

Both fighters had shaken off the other's attack. Seeing that the other person was still up, both Chouji and Kiba attacked again, only to have the same results happen again. They attacked each other again and again with the same attack hoping to overpower the other. Finally, they both stopped, each breathing very heavily. 

'There's got to be a way to knock him out,' each fighter thought.

Realizing that their attacks were cancelling each other's, they both began working on strategies to help win the fight.

'His attacks are powerful but if I attack him on the side, it might be enough since that kind of technique uses a lot of forward momentum,' both Chouji and Kiba thought.

With that thought, both Nins attacked. As soon as they got close Kiba move to the right, and around the frontal assault. As soon as Akamaru and Chouji collided, Chouji reversed his spin to force Akamaru upwards. However he was unprepared for Kiba's attack that launched him upwards into the air. Kiba soon stopped his attack because of the tremendous amount a chakra he used.

'Its better with Akamaru, at least he removes some of the air pressure away from me.' Kiba said as he looked upward only to see Chouji coming down toward him. 'Shit, I thought he would be up in the air longer,' Kiba thought as he saw Akamaru following Chouji. 'Damn it, Chouji must have sent Akamaru up first that way, Akamaru would have attacked downward to hit Chouji. Forcing him toward the ground faster.' The rest was interrupted as Chouji slammed into Kiba. However before Chouji could celebrate, Akamaru struck him, knocking him unconscious as well.

* * *

Hayate looked at both Nins, and said, "It is a double knockout. There is no winner in this match," Hayate said as medic Nins came to take both of the genins away. 

Hyuga Neji vs. Hyuga Hinata

This display caught everyone's attention. Gai and the Hokage both thought, 'What an interesting match up.' While Kurenai and Shino thought, 'Damn it, Hinata…' Naruto saw the fear in Hinata's eyes, however, even with that fear, he was amazed that Hinata walked up to the battlefield.

* * *

Neji was the first to speak, "I didn't think that I would be fighting you… Hinata-sama." 

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata responded softly.

* * *

"Older brother?" Sakura questioned. 

Naruto looked in amazement, "They're siblings?" he said in amazement.

Kakashi decided to enlighten his students, "They come from Konoha's oldest noble family, the Hyuuga Clan. But they aren't siblings."

"Then how could they be related?" Sakura asked.

"I guess they're related in that they come from Hyuuga's head family and branch family," Kakashi responded.

"Head family and branch family?" Naruto asked not liking the sound of it.

"Yes," Lee said butting into the conversation. "Hinata-san is from the head family. In other words the founders. And Neji is from the branch family, which carries the same bloodline."

"So it's a fight between relatives," Sakura said as she turned toward the Hyuuga. "It must be difficult for those two to fight."

"Yes, but…" Lee said.

Naruto and Sakura looked at Lee with curious looks.

"But I believe that a lot of things happened between the head family and branch family in the past… And they are not really on good terms with one another." Lee continued.

"Why?" Naruto asked with a strange seriousness.

"I don't know the details, but…" Lee then turned to Naruto with a finger pointed upwards. "In old families like Uchiha and Hyuuga… They have special moves and abilities that run only in that clan. To pass those moves down, the Hyuuga family has a set of rules. But it seems that those rules are favorable to the head family."

Sakura gasped, while Naruto went into a thinking pose. They all turned back to the battlefield.

"Because of these rules, a lot happened between the head family and branch family." Lee said.

"Must be a fight to settle the quarrels then." Sakura said.

"No," Naruto replied, "You know Hinata, do you honestly think that she would start a quarrel against anyone." He looked at the battlefield. "It's about to start."

* * *

"Please begin the match," Hayate said. 

"Before we fight, let me warn you about one thing, Hinata-sama," Neji said.

Hinata looked up.

"Give up," Neji continued. "You're not suited to becoming a ninja."

Naruto saw the shock written on Hinata's face.

"You are too kind," Neji said. "You seek harmony and avoid trouble. And you just go along and follow someone else's idea." It was then that Hinata looked away. "And… You have no self-confidence. You always feel inferior. That's why you thought it would be fine to remain a Genin. But you cannot register for the Chuunin exams unless there are three people. You couldn't refuse the offers from Kiba and your teammates… And the truth is that you are taking this exam unwillingly. Am I wrong?" Neji said.

Hinata hesitated before she spoke, "You're wrong! You're wrong… I… I just… wanted to change myself, so I willingly…"

Kurenai remembered when she was telling Hiashi about Hinata's new status. She remembered the cruelty that Hiashi displayed. It was that moment that replayed in her head. 'Hinata is trying to change herself in her own way,' Kurenai thought.

Neji focused on Hinata and said, "Hinata-sama. You are a spoiled child from the head family."

"What?" Hinata said in amazement.

"People can not change." Neji said firmly.

This announcement shocked Hinata.

"A failure is a failure. His personality and power will not change," Neji said.

Naruto was beginning to get pissed.

"People can not change, so that is why… terms like "elites" and "failures" exist. Everyone judges you by how good your face, head, abilities, body shape, and personality are. There are things that cannot be changed. People suffer due to their limits, and live. Just like how we can't change the fact that I am from the branch family and you are from the head family. My Byakugan has seen many things. That is why I know! You are trying to be tough. You are really thinking about how you want to leave this place right now." Neji said.

"That's not true! I really want to…" Hinata interrupted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura turned toward Kakashi and asked, "Byakugan?" 

"It is said that if you look at the origin of the Uchiha Clan, they came from the Hyuuga Clan. Byakugan is one of the Bloodline Limits that the Hyuuga family has… And is a special eye similar to the Sharingan. But if you look at it's ability of insight alone, it exceeds the Sharingan." Kakashi said.

'Yeah right, you and I both know what is the real true is. Right Kyu-chan,' Naruto thought.

**"OH? AND WHAT IS THAT KIT?" **the Kyuubi asked.

Naruto looked at both Hyuuga Nins. 'The eyes give them away,' he said sadly.

Meanwhile, Sasuke huffed in anger, 'The Sharingan is better then the Byakugan.'

* * *

Naruto watched as Neji went into a prayer position. 

"Byakugan!" Neji cried as the veins on the side of his head became more pronounce.

Naruto could see that Hinata was shaking. He became worried when nothing happened.

After a while, Neji spoke, "You can't fool my eyes. You moved your eyes to the top-left corner after you felt my pressure. This indicates you are recalling a past event. A harsh past of yours... After that, your eyes moved to the bottom right. This indicates you are imagining physical and mental pain. In other words… You imagined your old self and predicted the outcome of this match from past experiences. A prediction that says you will lose!"

Naruto was grabbing the railing tightly, to the point where the metal was beginning to bend to his strength.

"Your action of putting your arms in front of you… Shows that you want to put a wall between me and yourself to create some distance. It's an action that shows that you don't want me to look through your true feelings. That is because what I said is all correct. Also…! Your touching your own lips is an action to show your mind is disturbed. It's a defensive instinct that tries to lower nervousness and uneasiness. In other words, you know already… That you can not change…" Neji said.

"YOU CAN!" Naruto yelled. Both Hyuuga looked up at Naruto. "Don't label people just like that, you idiot! Beat him up, Hinata!"

Hinata's fears began to flow away from her. 'Naruto-kun…' she thought.

Everyone looked at Naruto with shock and amazement. 'It seems that Ibiki was right about him, he can change the focus of the room,' Sandaime thought as he looked at Hinata. 'And it appears that some one has a crush on him. Interesting…'

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, "Why don't you say something back? It makes the people watching get angry!" 'There that should help her with her esteem problem, lets see if she is truly worth,' Naruto thought as he watched his words take affect.

Hinata looked down after what Naruto said. 'Naruto-kun,' she thought.

Neji looking up at Naruto, thought, 'What a noisy guy.' He turned toward Hinata and was amazed at what he saw. No longer did she seem afraid, instead, there was a determined look about her.

'Naruto-kun. Thank you.' Hinata thought as she faced Neji with new confidence.

'Her eyes have changed,' Neji thought. "So you're not going to give up? Don't blame me later on," he said.

'I…' Hinata thought as she began performing hand seals. 'I don't want to… run away anymore,' she thought as she remembered all the times that Naruto stood up for himself. "Byakugan!" she exclaimed. She proceeded to get into a Jyuuken stance. "Neji-nii-san, let us fight," she said with confidence.

"Very well." Neji said.

* * *

"Their using the same Hyuuga Style," Lee said. This caused Team Seven to look at Lee. "Her stance is just like Neji's," Lee explained. 

"Hyuuga style?" Sakura asked.

"Konoha's strongest hand-to-hand combat style," Lee said as he gripped his fists tighter. "Remember what I said before? The strongest Genin in Konoha is most likely in my team. That is Hyuuga Neji."

* * *

Both Neji and Hinata attacked at the same time, each blocking the others' attack by blocking or dodging it completely. Everyone saw the chakra emitting from the Hyuuga's hands with each attack. Hinata was the first to hit a glancing blow.

* * *

"Did it hit?" Sakura asked. 

"No," Naruto said thoughtfully, "it was a glancing blow. Not very deep."

"No, it hurts even if it just nicks you," Lee said. "That is why the Hyuuga Clan is called Konoha's noble family."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said.

"Hyuuga has a special hand-to-hand combat style that is passed on from generation to generation," Gai explained. "The hand-to-hand combat style Lee and I are experts in… Tries to break the enemy's bones and create external wounds. Damage on the surface, so to speak. This offensive-type style of fighting is known as Gouken. On the other hand… Hyuuga attempts to damage the chakra circulatory system inside the enemy… And destroys the internal organs… In other words, internal damage… This is known Jyuuken, and their family uses this style. It doesn't look flashy, but it will start to hurt later on," Gai said.

"There is no way to train your internal organs," Kakashi continued. "If you get hit, no matter how tough you are it'll be fatal."

Naruto meanwhile was looking at the fight below.

* * *

'I can…' Hinata thought.

* * *

'Hinata has the advantage,' Shino thought. 

'Hinata…' Kurenai thought.

Naruto nodded his head. 'It is official. I wasn't sure until now, but it is his style. I wonder how they got a hold of it? As far as I know there was only the master and the secret to his style died with him.'

**"DAMN IT KIT! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU WERE FAKING IT ALL THIS TIME!"** the Kyuubi yelled.

Naruto smiled, 'Well what do you know. The Kyuubi can be fooled. Hehehehe.'

Kyuubi grumbled.

Naruto looked at Lee, or more precisely at Lee's fist. 'It seems that Lee wants to fight. I can't blame him. He thinks that Neji is his greatest rival. He wants to be in this fight more than anything. I wonder…'

**"WHAT KIT!"**

'I wonder what will happen when Lee face him instead,' Naruto thought. Naruto ignored the rest of the explanation except when he heard Kakashi say. "The eyes of those two nins, the Byakugan, can see them." Naruto realized something then, 'That means that they have lost many of his teachings. Hmmmm….'

It was then that Hinata and Neji struck. 'Damn it,' Naruto thought as he felt the attack.

It was Hinata's coughing up blood that let everyone know what happened. As Neji used his right hand to block the direct attack.

'So this was the best the head family could do,' Neji thought.

'I'm not done…' Hinata thought as she attacked with her other arm. Only to have Neji catch and strike the arm.

'No wonder he is the genius of the Hyuuga family,' both Naruto and Sandaime thought.

'To understand that not only major hits, but minors ones can lead to your victory is an understanding that few can realize. Hinata must protect herself well if she is to win.' Naruto thought.

* * *

Neji pulled back Hinata's sleeve. To reveal red spots on her arm. 

"Did you… So you were…" Hinata said.

"Correct," Neji said. "My eyes can see the tenketsu."

Neji proceeded to strike Hinata in the chest, sending her flying.

"Hinata-sama, this is the difference in our unchangeable powers. It's the difference that separates the elites from the dropouts. This is the unchangeable reality. You were destined to regret this when you said that you didn't want to run away. You should be in despair right now. This is your last warning. Give up." Neji said.

"I'm… not going to… take back… my… word… That's my way of the ninja." Hinata said as she struggled to stand up. Once up she looked up to see Naruto smiling softly at her. She focused on her Byakugan.

"Come," Neji said as he too focused on his Byakugan.

Hinata's heart had other plans as it hemorrhaged, forcing Hinata to cough up more blood.

* * *

'She can't fight anymore,' Kurenai thought as she saw Hinata cough up the blood. 'If she takes any more attacks…' 

'Neji's attacks strike the tenketsu and have completely stopped Hinata's flow of Chakra,' Kakashi thought. 'In other words, she is unable to use Jyuuken moves which force Chakra into the enemy. It's clear who will win. But I didn't know that such a guy existed. Our Sasuke won't be a match for him.' Kakashi thought.

'Neji will most likely get through this exam.' Gai thought. 'I guess a person at her level cannot win against him.'

Naruto heard what the Ino and the others had said about Hinata. He knew that he shouldn't call out to her, but all he could think about were the times when he was mocked and abused. Slowly he raised his head and in a loud voice called out. "Hinata! Do your best!"

**"WHAT ARE YOU DOING KIT? YOU WILL SEND HER TO HER DEATH!" **the Kyuubi said.

'I need to know…' Naruto thought. 'I need to know just how far she is willing to go if…'

The Kyuubi stopped Naruto's thought by saying, **"OKAY, KIT. JUST REMEMBER IT IS NOT ME THAT YOU HAVE TO CONVINCE."**

Naruto nodded as he continued to watch.

* * *

Hinata heard Naruto's words, 'Naruto-kun…' she thought. 

Neji looked at Hinata with curiosity, 'Power has once again returned to her eyes.' He watched as Hinata charged toward him.

'I have watched you, Naruto,' Hinata thought as she began to fight. 'I have watched you when you first was here, to when you returned. I wondered why… I don't know why, but… When I watch Naruto-kun… I feel more courage inside me. It makes me feel like I can accomplish something if I try. It makes me feel like I am worth something,' she thought as she replayed all the times that she saw Naruto stand up for himself. Only to be cut short as Neji used an upward strike to send her back.

She regained her breath and attacked Neji again. 'Naruto-kun, I have only been watching you. But I… I finally… Naruto-kun!' she thought as Neji struck her chest. This caused Hinata to lose her Byakugan. Coughing blood she fell to the ground.

"You are a stubborn person," Neji said. "Your attacks had no effect on me to begin with. It's over." Neji dismissed his Byakugan and walked away.

* * *

"That was a finishing move by Neji… He aimed for her heart. I feel sorry for her, but she cannot stand up anymore." Gai said. 

Naruto felt the anger well up inside him. He knew that he had just sent her to her downfall, and it hurt him so much to see it. He closed his eyes, 'But as all caterpillars must become cocoons so must she to fulfill what I have in store for her.' Naruto thought sadly. 'It still doesn't matter because I DID THIS TO HER! Wait… what is this?'

* * *

"I am going to assume that she can not fight anymore…" Hayate said. Only to be interrupted by Naruto. 

"Don't stop this match!" He cried out.

Sakura attempted to tell Naruto differently only to have her and the others watch in amazement as Hinata struggled to get up.

"Why did you stand up?" Neji asked. "If you push yourself, you're really going to die."

'I can't show an unsightly scene… in front of the person that I admire…' Hinata thought.

"Why?" Neji repeated himself.

'Who has finally looked at me…' Hinata thought as she saw Naruto smile and nod at her.

Neji activated his Byakugan.

Hinata said, "I can still…"

Only to be interrupted by Neji, "There's no point in acting tough. You're barely able to stand up. I can tell with these eyes that you have carried the destiny known as the Hyuuga family. You curse your powerlessness, and blame yourself. But people cannot change. This is destiny. There is no need to suffer. Let yourself go."

Hinata shook her head. "You're wrong, Neji-nii-san. Because I can see… That you are suffering more than me."

"What?" Neji said in disbelief.

"You are the one who is confused and suffering inside the fate of the head and branch families." Hinata said.

Neji felt the anger well up inside himself. Finally reaching the breaking point, he charged at Hinata.

"Neji-kun the match has ended!" Hayate said as he saw Neji charge. 'This isn't good.'

But before he could reach Hinata, Kakashi, Gai, Kurenai, and Hayate stopped him.

"Neji, cut it out," Gai said. "You have made a passionate promise with me that you will not argue about the head family."

"Why did the other Jounins come out?" Neji said in frustration. "Does the head family receive special treatment?"

It was then that Hinata's heart began going into cardiac arrest. But before she could collapse, Naruto suddenly appeared before her. Catching her, he set her down and began pressing tsubos to counter act the affects of the Jyuugen attacks. After he was done, he pressed his fingers to the side of her neck, checking her heart rate. He realized that Kurenai was behind him attempting to pull him away from Hinata, and failing miserably. He pulled back slightly to allow Kurenai to look at her student. When Naruto saw that Hinata began to open her eyes, he smiled.

"You did well, Hinata, I am so proud of you," Naruto said with a smile. He saw that she was about to ask him something. "You showed him that you can change," Naruto said softly. He noticed that this caused Hinata to relax, after she had closed her eyes, Naruto wiped the blood away from her mouth.

"Hey, the dropout there." Naruto heard Neji say. Naruto ignored him as he began moving the sleeves from Hinata's arms; he used this movement to hide the fact that he was pressing tsubos that would help heal her arms. "Oi, blonde-haired kid," Neji said, this time getting Naruto's attention. "Let me warn you about two things. If you're a ninja stop that unsightly cheering for a stranger. And one more thing, a dropout is a dropout. They can not change."

Naruto stood up, his head lowered so that no one could see his eyes. "But what if the dropout faked their abilities, making everyone believe that. Only…" Naruto then raised his head, and unleashed a third of his killer instinct toward Neji, forcing him to take a few steps back. "Only, to surprise everyone about how far they have truly progressed and what their talents really are. Didn't the Yondaime do just that?" Naruto asked as he stopped his killer instinct.

Neji shook his head to remove the rest of Naruto's killer instinct. Once he was done, he stepped up and gave a crooked grin to tempt Naruto into action. Naruto tossed something into the air, which landed before Neji. Neji looked down to see a strange kunai sticking out of the ground. When Neji looked up he saw Naruto flashing throught hand seals. Naruto, suddenly, disappeared before everyone's eyes and in a bright yellow flash appeared before Neji, using his right hand to flick him. The attack sent Neji flying to the wall, and embedding him into it.

Naruto smiled. "You don't know me, you think that you can perceive destiny. Then tell me, fortune teller, how did I do that?" He turned away and walked back to Hinata.

Everyone gasped. The Konoha Jounins, Orochimaru, and the Hokage all thought the same thing. 'That was the Hiraishin no Jutsu.' All the Konoha Jounins and Orochimaru could not understand how Naruto knew such a powerful S-rank jutsu. The Hokage raised one of his eyebrows. 'So he knows his father's specialty. Well I wonder what else he knows?'

Meanwhile, Neji became upset with what Naruto had said. Getting out of the wall, he then heard Naruto said to Lee. "I don't understand why you would have such a pathetic child as your rival, Lee. There are many different people that you could have as your rival. Hey, how about Haku, she is quite powerful and is better looking than Neji."

With that Neji charged toward Naruto, only to be blocked by Gai. He turned to Gai, who was looking at Naruto. Neji turned as saw the Hokage standing in front of Naruto, with his arms crossed. Neji swallowed, he knew that from the look that the Hokage was giving, if Neji wanted to attack Naruto he would have to attack the Hokage first. He quickly settled down.

Naruto watched as Hinata was taken away on a stretcher. He waited until Kurenai passed him and softly said; "When she wakes tell her that once she is fully healed, she is to meet me at Training Ground # 5. IF she asks why, tell her that I want to ask her a question, which will shake the very foundations of her belief." Seeing Kurenai nod, Naruto turned toward Neji. Seeing a blood splatter, he dipped his hand into it. He stood up and turned toward Neji. With his hand dripped in blood, Naruto pointed his fist at Neji. Speaking softly in Chinese, he then spoke aloud, "I WILL WIN!"

* * *

Author's notes: Sorry about splitting this chapter but after writing some of the battles I knew that this would be a long chapter, so it is better to split it into two chapters. I know that there are many people that want to see Naruto fight, but for right now I want to get some of the preliminaries out of the way. Also, note that I have added Haku's team into the mix, which meant more matches. I hope you enjoyed this part and get ready for the next. 

Also I know that the technique that Sakura used was not original because it was used by another author, however, you have to admit if you saw something like that happen it could be pretty scary especially if it contain as much strength as Sakura and the ability to use her chakra more effectively. It's too bad that I couldn't remember who wrote it, but the author is reading it; please forgive me for using your jutsu. And let me know if it is alright, if not I can always rewrite it.

Sorry for the lateness of the chapter, but because of a hard drive failure I had to rewrite many of my stories that I was currently working on. Plus I have new pre-readers that are interested in editing any grammatical or mistakes in jutsus that I have accidentally made.

Also, I know that a lot of the information came from the anime, but can you mess with perfection? Anyway, I wanted only certain people to advance to the next level. So only two matches are left, can you guess who will fight who? Here is a good way to find out people's responses to the next two matches.

AAAAAHHHHH! Why me, I just got done fighting in the Forest of Death and now I am fighting here in a match that I don't want… Wait a minute, I remember that guy, Sakura told me that he was going to hurt her. Well Time for a little pay back.

Next time on Fist of Naruto: The Chuunin Exam, Preliminary fight part 2. It's time to put up or shut up. I am here to fight, but what is this? A months? Cool I can train... What is Ero-sanin and Ken-sama doing here?


	12. Chapter 10b

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell, save my eternal soul, and you can't have that.

Author's notes: My apologies to everyone, I am sorry for not being able to get this chapter out to you so quickly, but I have been looking for a new job, and that caused me to stall on all my other projects. Thank you for your patience.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 10

Part B

The Chuunin Exam:

Battles and Training

* * *

Naruto waited until Hinata was taken away before he walked back up to the second floor. As he approached, he punched the wall causing an indent to appear on it. 'Damn it! I have to calm down,' Naruto thought as he walked up the stairs.

Meanwhile, everyone watched as Naruto walked up the stairs. Most could not believe what he had done, while some were worried about the potential that he possessed. The main thing that all of Nins thought was how was it possible that a "dead-last" could do a technique like that.

Sasuke was fuming, he heard what Naruto said. 'He has the gall to compare himself to the Yondaime. What a moron… And what was that technique. Not even my Sharingan could capture it in time,' he thought as he promised himself to look into that technique.

* * *

As they were cleaning the battlefield for the next match, the remaining fighters were thinking about the next two matches. 'Who will fight against who?' was the thought that ran through the remaining fighters' mind. However, Kankurō looked at Gaara with apprehension. 'He's in a dangerous mood…'

'He must've watched that battle…' Tenten thought.

'And gotten excited…' Baki continued that thought. 'The beast inside him, that is.'

Kankurō looked at Neji. 'That Neji guy catches my attention… Let me do something,' he thought as he walked past his team.

"Kankurō?" Temari asked.

"I'm going to go on a little recon mission." Kankurō said

* * *

"Hey!" someone said catching Naruto's attention. He turned to see Kankurō walking up to him.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"Shouldn't you be with your teammates?" Kankurō asked.

Naruto looked at Kankurō. "What does it matter to you?" Naruto asked.

Kankurō looked as saw Neji between Naruto and his team. 'I see,' he thought. "His name is Hyuuga Neji, right? From the look of that match, it seems that he hasn't used all his powers. So what kind of guy is he?"

Naruto looked at Kankurō in a lazy way. "What do you care?" he asked.

Kankurō chuckled and said, "You're an interesting guy. I like you."

Naruto turned toward Kankurō, and pointed toward Gaara. "You're on his team right?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah so?" Kankurō said wondering what Naruto was going to ask.

"Tell your partner," Naruto said motioning to Gaara, "To keep his cool, we don't want to have to silence him or his… inner demon. Right?"

Kankurō was stunned by what Naruto had said. 'How did he know? I better let Baki know,' he thought as he moved away.

'I thought he would never leave… Okay Kyu-chan, how do I work with sealing his demon again,' Naruto thought as he looked at Gaara.

**"DAMN IT KIT, I HAVE ALREADY TOLD YOU… THE ONLY WAY TO SEAL THE DEMON IS TO CURE IT FIRST. THEN YOU COMPLETE THE SEAL."** The Kyuubi lectured as it continued to tell Naruto about curing Gaara, and completing the seal.

A cough brought everyone's attention to the battlefield. "We will now continue the matches," Hayate said.

* * *

Gai turned toward Lee. "YOSH!" Gai said. "It's going to be your turn this time. Now go, Lee!" Gai said with a thumb's up gesture.

"No." Lee said. This caused Gai and Sakura to look at Lee strangely. "I've come this far. I want to be last now." Lee said as he lifted his nose upward.

'Lee-san is sulking?' Sakura thought.

Gaara waited before he finally went to the battleground. "Hurry up and come down," Gaara said.

The board then displayed the next two fighters.

Rock Lee vs. Sabaku no Gaara

This caused Sakura to gasp. She turned toward Lee. "Lee-san," she said only to see Lee performing a sidekick toward the battlefield.

"You fell for it," Lee exclaimed. "If I say I want to be last, that doesn't happen. A rock thrown at a pole will not hit… But if you throw without aiming at the pole, it will hit. That is the law I used!"

* * *

Sakura and Sasuke watched as Guy and Lee conversed about the "trick". They listened as Guy spoke to Lee about what they thought no one "noticed" about Gaara.

Meanwhile Naruto was thinking about other things. 'How in the hell did he do that?' he thought.

**"DON'T BE SURPRISE K**

* * *

**IT. SHUKAKU WAS ALWAYS ABLE TO PREDICT AN ATTACK. THE REASON IS BECAUSE HE IS SLIGHTLY PSYCHIC. THE ONLY REASON THAT PRIEST WAS ABLE TO GET HIM WAS BECAUSE HE WAS DRUNK AT THE TIME." **The Kyuubi said.

'Are you serious,' Naruto thought in disbelief. 'How can a demon get drunk.'

**"YOU THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE WE'RE DEMONS THAT WE CAN'T DO THINK LIKE GET DRUNK. DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT WE CAN'T CHANGE OUR FORMS TO SNEAK INTO TOWN FOR A GOOD TIME!"** The Kyuubi said. **"BESIDE SHUKAKU ALWAYS WAS A LIGHT WEIGHT. AFTER THREE BOTTLES OF SAKE, HE WOULD BE PLASTERED. AS FOR MYSELF, I HAVE A DIFFERENT VICE… TAIL HEHEHEHAHAHAHAHA!"**

Naruto began banging his head on the rail. 'AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! Stupid Kyu-chan!' Naruto thought trying to get rid of the Kyuubi's comment from his head. Naruto, finally, lifted his head up and watched as Lee jumped down to battlefield.

* * *

Lee went into his taijutsu position. "I'm very happy that I can fight you so early," Lee said.

Gaara just stared at Lee.

Meanwhile, Kankurō shook off what Naruto had said and looked at Lee. "I don't know what kind of moves that bobbed haired guy uses… But he can't beat Gaara," he said as he rejoined Naruto.

'He has speed, but his kicks wasn't that great,' Temari thought as she analyzed Lee.

"No," Naruto said in a soft voice. "Lee will injure Gaara. He's that strong."

* * *

Lee quickly caught the cork. "Don't get so hasty," Lee said as he dropped the cork to the ground.

Everyone watched as Hayate, raised his hand. "Now, let the match… Begin."

With that Lee quickly acted running up to Gaara. As soon as he was within range, Lee jumped up and yelled, "Konoha Whirlwind!" Only to have the kick blocked by sand. Lee watched as the sand rose from the ground and approached him. Acting quickly, Lee leapt into the air and somersaulted away from the sand. He watched as the sand quickly retreated back to Gaara, and into the gourd.

The others were amazed at the technique that Gaara revealed to have. Some were amazed by it, while others remembered seeing it in action.

'A technique that controls sand, eh? Seems very annoying. Let's try it out!' Lee thought as he charged at Gaara again.

This time Lee began a barrage of kicks and punches, but none of them seem to get close enough to hit Gaara. The sand soon began attacking, Lee responded by pulling out his kunai and began slashing at it. He was able to squeeze a kick in, only to be blocked by the sand once again. However before he could attack again the sand's attacks became more intense. This caused Lee to back away from Gaara again. However, during one of Lee's leaps, he quickly launched two shurikens, only to have them intercepted by the sand. Lee and Naruto both came to the same conclusion. 'His sand allows him to attack and defend at the same time.'

Kankurō saw the thoughtful expression on Naruto's face and said, "Physical attacks have no effect on him. Regardless of Gaara's will, the sand will shield and protect him. That's why no one has ever… hurt Gaara."

'Damn it, he hasn't moved at all,' Lee thought.

"Is that it?" Gaara said bringing Lee out of his thoughts. "Let me enjoy this a little more… There's isn't enough… Blood!" With that the sand launched itself at Lee, who jumped. Only to have it grab onto Lee's leg and whirl him around until he was slammed to the wall.

As Lee was getting up he saw the sand launch another attack, which he sidestepped away from. He charged and punched at Gaara only to have the punch intercepted by the sand. He immediately went into a series of physical attacks, only to have them blocked by the sand.

* * *

Naruto was watching the fight trying to figure out how Gaara could have such a cool ability while he did not. The Kyuubi interrupted his thoughts by chuckling to itself. 'What's so funny,' Naruto thought.

**"THE REASON THAT YOU DON'T HAVE SUCH COOL 'ABILITIES' IS BECAUSE OF THE SEAL. IT PERMANENTLY SEALS ALL MY ABILITIES."** The Kyuubi said.

'What about the healing?' Naruto thought.

**"THAT WAS YOUR'S TO BEGIN WITH. I CAN ONLY LEND YOU MY CHAKRA, BUT NOT MUCH ELSE. THAT IS UNTIL RECENTLY…"** the Kyuubi said.

Naruto nodded, he listened to what Gai had said about Lee's ability.

As Naruto listen, he began to admire the shear willpower that Lee had. The obstacles that Lee had to face were tremendous, but Lee continued forward. Naruto smiled as it reminded him a lot like himself. He continued to watch as Lee began back flipping to get away from the sand, only to trip on the sand. Grabbing the handrail he watched as Lee fell, however, he did breath a sigh of relief when Lee launched himself into the air to avoid the sand. He smiled as Lee landed on the finger point of the statue.

He heard Gai speak some more about Lee's inability, and then watched as Gai told Lee to remove and drop the weights. He shook his head, as he saw the weights, 'So that was what he was carrying. I wonder how much…' the rest of that thought was removed as the weights hit the ground. Naruto heard Kakashi's comment, "Isn't that too much, Gai?" Naruto chuckled as he remembered how his master did their weight training. 'I bet I could lift that with my pinky,' Naruto thought as he thanked Ken-sama for training him in weights. He watched as Gai started Lee once again. He noticed a gasp, which led him to soon find out that only he could watch Lee's every movement.

* * *

Back at the battlefield

* * *

Lee was working hard. With each attack it brought him closer to actually hitting Gaara. Finally, Lee attacked with a flying stomp kick that struck Gaara. Sending both Gaara and Lee to opposite ways. Lee raised his head and smiled as he saw the damage that the attack made.

"The explosion of youth!" Gai said from the second floor. This caused Lee's eyes to become enflamed. "SIR!" Lee cried out. He immediately charged forward. Gaara hoped to stop Lee by launching sand in a broad stroke only to miss. Lee once again began attacking using his quick speed. Finally, Lee cried out, "Over here!"

When Gaara turned to the voice, Lee attacked with a strong right cross. This sent Gaara flying away from Lee. When the Konoha Nins saw this, most cheered Lee on for the hit. However, Naruto, and the Sand Nin were not happy. Gaara, slowly got up, as he did the sand poured out of his gourd.

* * *

"This isn't good," Kankurō said. Naruto waited for Kankurō to continue. Just then, bits of sand came from Gaara head. Everyone soon saw what that sand was, as Gaara looked up, bits of sand fell from him.

Naruto and the Sand Nins become more worried. The Sand Nins had seen this face before and were getting very scared. Meanwhile, Naruto was worrying about some thing different. 'Can you feel it?' Naruto thought.

**"YAHH, KIT. IT'S SMALL BUT IT'S THERE,"** the Kyuubi said.

'So why do you think that it happens?' Naruto asked.

**"POSSIBLE, BUT ONLY IF THE CONTAINER IS CORRUPTED,"** the Kyuubi said.

Meanwhile, Kankurō, was very nervous. 'Just as I thought, he had sand covering himself. But it's been a while since I've seen that expression on Gaara,' he thought.

'I felt that he had become more unstable during this Chuunin Exam…' Temari thought.

The sand slowly covered Gaara, hiding his smile and the rest of his body.

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

Kankurō decided to answer Naruto's question. "Yeah, that's the armor of sand," he said. He saw Naruto turn toward him with a question look.

"Normally, the shield of sand protects Gaara automatically… And if the shield is bypassed by chance… The armor of sand will stop the attack. That is Gaara's absolute defense," Kankurō said.

Naruto nodded, and continued to watch. However, Kankurō continued by thinking, 'No, that's quite true. Actually, the armor of sand is full of weak points. Since it is not done automatically, it consumes a massive amount of Chakra. Since the sand is stuck right to his body, he uses up more strength.'

Temari continued that thought, 'Since Gaara was forced to use that, it means he's being pressured right now. That Lee guy is pretty strong. But the outcome of this match is clear. He cannot defeat Gaara.'

* * *

"Is that all you've got?" Gaara said.

Lee looked at Gaara. 'What an incredible guards,' he thought. 'Even if I can move fast, my attacks will not have any effect. I have no choice, but to apply great damage from above the sand. Lotus will do the job.' From the corner of his eye, he saw Gai nod. It had seemed that Gai had also reached that same conclusion. With a grin, Lee began unwrapping his bandages.

* * *

This caused both Naruto and Sasuke to look intensely at what Lee had done. 'It can't be, he is going to use that technique,' they thought as they remembered the last time they saw this technique.

* * *

"Prepare yourself," Lee said as he took off running. Soon a dust circle formed around Gaara.

'Lee's Lotus, which will drop the enemy at high speed… should be able to nullify that thin sand protection,' Gai said as he watched on.

"Hurry up and come," Gaara said as he became bored with the dust circle.

"As you wish!" Lee said. He appeared before Gaara and launched Gaara skyward. However, it was not enough to launch Gaara skyward. This did not bother Lee as he continued kicking Gaara skyward. Lee suddenly flinched, before using his bandages to wrap Gaara up. After Gaara was wrapped up, Lee grabbed onto Gaara and began spinning.

"Try this… Secondary Lotus!" Lee cried as they struck the ground.

As the dust settled everyone saw that Lee was a few feet away from the indented ground with Gaara lying within the embedded ground with cracks all over him.

"That should've hurt," Lee said. However, as Hayate approached Gaara, everyone noticed that something wasn't right with Gaara. As the armor feel apart, it became apparent that there was no Gaara within the armor.

"What!" Lee exclaimed.

* * *

Second floor

* * *

"When did he switch…? That can't be," Gai said.

Kakashi decided to answer. "When you were closing your eyes and praying." This response caught Gai's attention. Kakashi continued, "Lee briefly paused from the pain. That's when…" Gai quickly looked back at Lee.

Meanwhile, Naruto was not happy. 'I thought that the last of that technique was lost. Damn it, don't people know when to let sleeping dogs lie.'

**"CALM DOWN, KIT,"** the Kyuubi responded. **"WE DON'T KNOW IF IT IS THE SAME TECHNIQUE."**

'How can it not be, I should have realized it when I first saw it. Damn my inattention, I just hope I am wrong about this,' Naruto thought.

**"ME TOO, KIT,"** the Kyuubi said.

* * *

Back at the battlefield

* * *

The sand began to rise behind Lee. Lee quickly turned around and saw Gaara appear from beneath the sand. Gaara's entire body showed signs of cracks and fission. However, this did not stop Gaara from flashing an insane looking grin at Lee. Gaara made a hand seal, which launched a multitude of sand missiles upward, these missiles turned downward and attacked Lee.

Lee could only block the first one before the second missile hit him sending him flying back. Lee tried to get up, but his body would not respond to his mental requests. Lee finally was able to turn around to see Gaara once again create a hand seal. This launched a huge wave of sand from behind Gaara. As it came down, Lee protected his head, as the wave launched him into the wall. Gaara was not done as he created more missiles to attack Lee. Gaara stopped and waited until the dust cloud had settled.

Gaara licked his lips in anticipation as he waited until the dust settled. Meanwhile, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji were learning why Lee was so sluggish after his technique. This cause all save Sasuke to become discourage with what they had heard.

Naruto was watching Lee closely; he knew the weakness of the technique, because of his studies. However, his musings were cut short by Kankurō comment. "The bobbed hair had bad luck, matching up with Gaara." Before Naruto could respond, Gai interrupted.

"No, Lee is not a guy who will surrender to something like this," Gai said.

"Nani?" Kankurō asked.

"That is because Lee is…" Gai said as he watched Lee get pounded by the sand. 'That is because you kept working hard, Lee,' Gai thought as he remembered the time that he talked to Lee about his weakness, and what he did to help him.

* * *

Meanwhile back at the battlefield

* * *

Lee was protecting himself, when he looked up at Gai. Seeing Gai smile, Lee felt energized. With that he returned to his normal strength, but his thoughts ran a different course. 'Sensei is smiling for me. That alone can revive me, and make me stronger. Stronger… Far Stronger!' Lee thought.

* * *

Naruto watched as Lee returned to his former strength, however, what he heard Gai said in response to Sakura chilled him to his bones.

"No, we will corner him now. The Lotus in Konoha blooms twice," Gai said.

This caused Naruto to tense up and squeeze the railing. Both he and Kakashi had reached the same conclusion.

* * *

"Gai, when did you…!" Kakashi said as he heard Gai's response.

"It's just as you suspect." Gai said.

"So that boy, a Genin… is capable of opening the Eight Gates? And using the Primary Lotus?" Kakashi asked.

'Primary Lotus?' both Sasuke and Neji thought.

"That's correct." Gai said.

Before Kakashi could continue, Naruto appeared beside Gai and slammed him against the wall.

"HOW MANY!" Naruto yelled.

Only waiting for a short time before grabbing Gai and slamming him again against the wall, Naruto repeated himself. Only to have Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai forcefully pull him off.

Gai, however, responded to Naruto in a low voice. "Five." This cause Naruto to surge upward, causing the three Jounins to lose their grip and fall down. Before Naruto could do anything, a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"I understand why you are upset, but remember your promise," the voice said softly.

Naruto took a deep breath before turning toward the voice. "Yes, Hokage-sama." Naruto said as he followed the Hokage away from Gai.

This caused a stir among the Genin, who could not believe what just happened. Sakura shook off what had happened to ask Gai what was so upsetting about the Eight Gates and the Primary Lotus.

"The Eight Gates Manipulation is a preparation of taking limiters off to use the Primary Lotus." Gai said sadly.

"Taking limiters off?" Sakura asked.

Kakashi shook of what Naruto did and lifted his headband to look at Lee. "That's correct. In the Chakra circulatory system… there are gates in each part of the body. From the top, they are… Open Gate, Energy Gate, Life Gate, Wound Gate, Forest Gate, View Gate, Insanity Gate, and Death Gate. Those are the eight places in the body where Chakra holes are concentrated. These are known as the Eight Gates. These eight gates constantly control the Chakra that flows in your body. But the Lotus unfastens those controls with force. And grants the user more than ten times more power. That is its power source," Kakashi said.

Gai continued, "Secondary Lotus is a move that opens the first gate, the Open Gate… It unfastens the control of the brain, and enables the person to use his muscles to their limits."

"What about Primary Lotus?" Sakura said.

"It opens the second gate, the Energy Gate and increases one's strength forcefully… And after opening the third gate, the Life Gate, the Primary Lotus is carried out." Gai said.

"But the Secondary Lotus alone wears out his body." Sakura said. "If he tries to do something more straining than that…"

"Yes," Kakashi said. "By opening all eight gates, you are able to gain temporary powers greater than a Hokage. But the person will… Die."

"I have no intention of prying into what that boy is to you, and I won't tell you to leave personal affairs out of this… But there is such a thing as a limit. I've lost faith in you, Gai." Kakashi said.

"What do you… know about him?" Gai said. "He has something important that he must protect and prove to everyone, even if it means his own death. That is why I wanted to make him into a man who could hold to those words. That is all."

Everyone watch Lee to see what would happen next.

* * *

Lee was remembering when Gai first taught him the technique, and the condition to using it. 'That is…' Lee thought as he prepared himself. Slowly the air around Lee became more concentrated. This caused everyone to look at Lee.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but you're going to be finished here." Gaara said.

"Yes," Lee replied. "Either way, the next move will end everything." Lee thought about his rivals, "Neji, Sasuke-kun, and…" Naruto appeared in his mind. 'I can not be the only one who loses here!' Lee thought as his skin color changed. 'Gai-sensei, please acknowledge this… Now is the time…' Chakra began seeping out of Lee, and as he threw his arms back, he thought, 'To abide by and protect my way of the ninja!'

'Third… Life Gate, open!' Lee thought. Everyone looked at Lee in amazement, except for Naruto who intensified his gaze. Lee bent down and cried out, "Now for the fourth gate… Wound Gate… OPEN!" Soon blood vessels appeared around Lee's eyes.

* * *

Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'Don't tell me that he is going to open all nine…' Naruto thought as he looked on.

Meanwhile Kakashi looked in amazement at Lee. 'What a guy… This isn't something that can be achieved with hard work alone. Is he a genius after all?' he thought.

* * *

Lee crouched down slowly, and then vanished. Only Naruto could see where Lee was. Suddenly Gaara was launched into the air. However, the attack sent a massive dust cloud that caused everyone to cover themselves from the dust and the debris. Once the dust cleared the Nins looked around to see where the Nins were. Only Naruto was looking up. Suddenly, Shikamaru yelled out, which caused the other Nins to look up. They saw Gaara appear from the dust cloud with cracks appearing on his armor. The sand attempted to reach Gaara, however, Lee decided to stop that. He, suddenly, appeared before Gaara and struck Gaara downward. As Gaara approached the ground, Lee appeared behind Gaara and hit Gaara sending him upward. This lead to Lee repeatedly attacking Gaara in mid-air, however, both Naruto and Kakashi noticed something was going wrong with Lee.

'His muscles have ripped,' Kakashi and Naruto thought.

* * *

"This is the end," Lee cried out as he approached Gaara. "Fifth Gate, the Forest Gate… Open!"

'I can't defend myself," Gaara thought. 'Is this really human movement?'

'Neji,' Lee thought as he glanced at Neji, 'this was a secret move to defeat you… But I will show it to you.' With that Lee approached Gaara and… vanished. He suddenly appeared at Gaara's gut with a punch that sent Lee flying away. However, Gaara was stopped suddenly. Gaara looked down to see a strap attached to his belt.

* * *

Up on the second floor

* * *

'The shield of sand cannot catch up…' Temari thought.

'Most of his armor has been peeled off as well… Not good.' Kankurō thought.

'Primary Lotus… Simply put, it is a combination of high-speed hand-to-hand combat moves where the enemy cannot even touch the user. The answer to defeating Neji lies within the high-speed combo. There is no way the sand can keep up.' Gai thought.

* * *

Lee grabbed onto the strap. 'This will be the last move!' Lee thought as he pulled the strap towards him. This forced Gaara to be pulled toward Lee. As Gaara approached Lee attacked with a kick and a punch. "PRIMARY LOTUS!" Lee yelled. This sent a new dust cloud upwards and blocked everyone's view.

* * *

Naruto heard Lee cry out in pain. 'Damn it, he wasn't ready for that technique,' he thought.

* * *

Suddenly, Gaara's gourd began to turn into sand. This action caused Naruto, Kakashi, and Gai to worry. As a new dust cloud formed, Lee rolled away from the cloud and remained silent. As the dust cloud dissipated, everyone saw what had happened to Gaara.

The sand had cushioned Gaara's fall, but did not prevent him from the sustained damaged that Lee had caused him. Gaara was facing Lee, breathing hard, he slowly moved his arm and pointed it toward Lee. As Lee sat up, moved toward Lee. Lee attempted to get away, but was hampered by the results of his usage of the Gates and the Primary Lotus.

A hand of sand formed and moved toward Lee. Lee was straining to get out of the way, but the injuries were forcing him to crawl. He turned and thought, 'No way… I used Primary Lotus on him, but he's still able to attack?' The sand finally approached and caught Lee's leg. As Lee attempted to turn away the sand with his hand, it caught Lee's arm. Lee slowly stood up and attempted to pull away. That was when Gaara attacked.

"Desert Coffin!" Gaara said as he made a fist. The attack crushed Lee's arm and leg.

'I can't lose here…' Lee thought as he went down. 'I must protect my way of the ninja…' He then collapsed and knew no more.

Gaara however was far from done, as a wave of sand approached Lee.

'This is not good,' Hayate thought.

As the sand approached, Gaara cried out. "Die!"

It was then that two things jumped in front of the sand.

* * *

Gai had interrupted the fight, but he wasn't the only one… Naruto was there too.

Naruto quickly went to Lee's side, as Gai looked at Gaara.

Gaara grabbed his head in pain and asked, "Why? Why did you help him?"

Gai looked at Gaara and said, "He's… He's… an important subordinate I love."

Gaara looked at Gai and then at Naruto who was working on Lee. Naruto, without taking his eyes of Lee, said, "He is one of my important people. I will defend my life for him."

Gaara arose and the sand covered him once again. "I quit," he said as he walked away.

Hayate raised his hand and said, "Winner, Gaa…" only to stop suddenly. This caused everyone to look.

Naruto, who was by Lee's side, quickly pressing the tsubos on Lee's body. After making some quick hand seals, his hands glowed green and he quickly placed one on Lee's arm, and the other on Lee's leg.

Seeing that Lee was rising, Naruto quickly pressed the pressure point Kisha to immobilize Lee. Naruto admired Lee's determination. "Even unconscious, he still is willing to prove his way of the ninja," Naruto said loudly catching everyone's attention. Once he was done, he turned to Gai, and unleashed 4/9th of his killing intent. Naruto quickly lunged at Gai and slammed him against the hand statue. "You are an idiot for showing that technique to Lee," Naruto said as he pulled back his fist and slammed it into the statue causing fracture lines to extend from the point of impact.

Gai closed his eyes; he couldn't even defend himself from Naruto's attack. After that intense killing intent, he knew that Naruto blamed him for teaching Lee that technique.

Suddenly the killer intent faded. "However," Naruto said and waited for Gai to open his eyes. "However, I have never seen a more deserving individual than Lee," he continued as he lowered Gai down. "Next time teach him constrain, and force him to leave at least three of his gates open in order for him to heal faster." Naruto turned and disappeared.

* * *

Gaara who had seen this action narrowed his eyes where Naruto once stood. He then vanished in a cloud of sand.

* * *

Gai shook his head, 'Such power…' but before he could continue with that thought a medic-nin approached him.

"Are you the Jounin in charge of him?" the medic-nin asked.

"Yes…" Gai said.

The medic-nin stood up. "This way, please," he said.

Gai followed the medic-nin. As soon as they were alone, the medic-nin turned toward Gai. "Does your subordinate have any bloodline limit within him?" the medic-nin asked.

"No… why do you ask?" Gai replied.

The medic-nin turned toward Lee, and said, "For some reason then your subordinate has repaired most of the damage, even some microscopic fractures along the spine. The only major damage is to his arm and leg. They are quite sever, enough that we can't guarantee if he will remain a ninja if he heals."

Kakashi went down to apologize for Naruto's actions, but after hearing that announcement, he went to Gai. "Gai," he said getting Gai's attention. "I was kind of being preachy up there, but after thinking about it… If I was in your position… I would have done the same… Gai, you in the way for the next match. Come on, let's go back up."

"Okay," Gai said softly.

* * *

Hayate coughed to get everyone's attention. "The final match will have the last remaining combatants," he said as the board displayed the names.

Haku vs. Uzumaki Naruto vs. Dosu

Naruto saw the billboard and smiled, after having to deal with Hinata and Lee, it was about time for him to let off some steam. As he came down the stairs, he heard a voice say, "Use our way, but not our more pronounced techniques." Naruto nodded and continued to walk. He waited until Haku and Dosu came down. Once everyone was there, Naruto spoke, "Well Haku, it has been a long time. So how shall we play it, a free for all or a handicap match?"

Haku realized what Naruto was asking her and thought deeply, but before she could say anything Dosu decided to speak.

"It doesn't matter if you two join up to take me on, I will win anyway," he said.

Naruto began to chuckle, which turned into a full-blown laugh. A short time later, Haku joined in with the laughter. Naruto grabbed onto Haku's shoulder and used it to steady himself.

"What's so funny?" Dosu said angrily.

Naruto turned to Haku. Haku smiled and said, "Handicap."

Naruto nodded and removed his swords. "You idiot," Naruto said. "The handicap was meant for me, not you. Haku has fought me before and knows that if she has any chance to win, she needs to stop me first." Naruto removed his kunai pouch and his mini-sack. Once both had been removed, he took out two soldier pills and tossed one to Haku and the other to Dosu. Seeing the questioning look from Dosu's face, Naruto explained, "Those soldier pills will replenish your health and chakra. You will need them both." He then pulled out a strange three-pronged kunai and placed it on his belt. He then pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Haku.

"Why are you doing this?" Dosu asked as he saw Haku take the pill.

Naruto looked at him and explained, "During the 2300 years of history of the Our Style, we have always fought with the same limitations that our adversaries. I follow the laws of my school because they are what define my lifestyle and the one of all the heirs across those millennia. That's one of the meanings of a Our Style's." Naruto waited until Dosu ate the pill. Afterwards, Naruto smiled and tossed his things up into the second floor next to Kakashi.

"Why did you do that," Dosu said.

Naruto looked at Dosu and smiled, "You possess a gauntlet, granted it can produce sound waves that you use to attack, but it is still a gauntlet. Haku uses Senbon needles; she only had six left, which means that she can only use them in a melee setting. The scroll I tossed her will help her out with her bloodline, but once again it is a melee-oriented bloodline. Which means that I won't need my kunais or other items since they are mostly used in a ranged attack. Plus, if I use my swords, I will have a superior range, which will make it harder for you to attack me."

Dosu nodded, "Your funeral."

Haku chuckled and turned toward Dosu, "You don't understand, he is not limiting himself, just giving us enough rope to hang ourselves with."

Hayate coughed, "Begin," he said.

* * *

The first attacks were instant. Haku ripped the scroll causing a flood of water to appear. Dosu attempted a charge with his gauntlet, which never made it as Naruto flung his arms toward Dosu. This caused a wave to form, which pushed Dosu back. However, before Naruto could continue, a wave crashed down behind him. "Suirō no Jutsu," Haku cried. Naruto soon found himself on the ground encased within a dome of water.

'Damnit I can't believe I fell for it,' Naruto thought as he pulled out his kunai in secret, and waited for the right moment.

* * *

Sasuke scoffed as he saw what was happening. At first he was amazed that Naruto would give such an advantage toward his opponent. Even after hearing Naruto's explanation, Sasuke shook his head in disappointment.

Kakashi and Sakura were both worried, they had seen this jutsu before and knew what the jutsu did. With Naruto encased, the chance for him to win became less likely.

Almost everyone was amazed that Naruto would let himself fight with such a handicap. They instantly felt that the end was near for Naruto.

Sandaime and Ken were watching the fight, although no one could see Ken, Sandaime knew he was there. Sandaime also saw the kunai that Naruto kept. 'Could he possibly know that technique,' he thought as he scanned the area. He knew that no Rock Nins had passed the last exam, but he wanted to make sure. If the kunai was the kunai that he thought of, he knew that the Rock would not waste any time in attacking Konoha.

'This was one of the reasons that Naruto used his mother's name and not his father,' the Sandaime thought, 'if any of the Rock knew who Naruto was related to, there would be no rest for him as the Rock had vowed a blood oath to destroy the Yondaime and his line. The Sandaime sighed as he thought back to what Ken had said. Sure what Naruto had accomplished was incredible, but Sandaime knew that Ken had been holding something back. The Sandaime watched and prayed that everything would go well

* * *

Haku saw that Dosu get up and yelled, "Quickly use your gauntlet."

"What?" Dosu asked.

"We need to disorient Naruto, if we don't it will be harder on us," Haku replied.

Dosu saw the position that Naruto was in and decided to listen to Haku, and sank his gauntlet into the water dome. Dosu smiled, but before he could do anything he saw Naruto smile. "What is so funny?" Dosu asked.

Naruto continue to smile as he pulled out the kunai. "You think that you have me but you don't." Naruto said as threw his kunai toward Dosu.

Dosu quickly dodged the kunai and smiled. "You missed."

Naruto smiled and made a hand symbol, "Who said I missed," he said as a he suddenly disappeared.

Dosu was stunned; he could not believe what had just happened. 'How is it possible, he was right there. How could he have escaped.' Dosu thought. Suddenly a voice brought him back to the present.

"Is something wrong?" a voice asked.

Dosu, without thinking, replied, "Naruto, he's gone…" He quickly realized just how was behind him. Quickly turning around, he hoped to defend himself from Naruto, only to see a fist and then darkness.

Naruto smiled as he saw Dosu fly away and hit the wall making an indention in the wall. Just as he was about to turn around he heard Haku call out, "Sensatsu Suishō." He turned toward Haku only to see thousands upon thousands of needles in front of him. "Well didn't see that coming," Naruto said as the needles hovered around him.

"How did you do that?" Haku asked.

"What… the escape?" Naruto asked. Seeing Haku nod, Naruto smiled, "The kunai."

Haku turned toward the kunai that seemed to hover next to Naruto. Her eyes widened as she realized why it did it. "A wire."

Naruto smiled, "Yes, the throw was a distraction so that he would not recognized that the kunai carried an invisible wire that allowed me to escape your prison. Now," he said as he got into position, "Let's finish this." Naruto quickly performed the same hand seal and called out, "Hiraishin no Jutsu!" In a bright flash of yellow disappeared from where he was before the needles came crashing toward where he once stood.

As soon as Naruto made the hand seals, Haku softly cursed and unleashed the needles. The resulting flash and waterspout cause Haku to lose sight of Naruto. Thinking that he could be injured she pulled out her Senbon needles and prepared to launch herself toward the spout.

"Not bad, just too late," a voice said beside her. She felt a touch on the back of her neck and knew no more.

* * *

Almost everyone looked in shock. No one could believe what had just happened. Sasuke used his Sharingan see the water prison technique. He was surprised like the rest with Naruto's disappearance, but after Naruto's explanation, he understood. Then Haku did her technique. One that Sasuke remembered quite clearly, however, unlike before there were even more needles and nowhere to run. Sasuke was sure that Naruto would be defeated, that however, changed when Naruto yelled out his technique and vanish, only to reappear next to Haku. 'How did he do that, and why didn't my Sharingan pick it up?' he thought. It was further complicated by what Naruto did. It seemed as though he caressed Haku's shoulder, which caused Haku to faint.

What neither he or anyone else realized was that Naruto had used this as a distraction from what he was really doing, which was knocking out Haku. However, in everyone's eyes it seemed as if Haku just fainted… probably from using so much chakra, they convinced themselves.

* * *

"What just happened?" asked by many Nins as they remembered seeing the bright yellow flash. However, Gai and Kakashi both frowned and turned to one another.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu…" both Gai and Kakashi said.

"How is this possible?" Gai asked, "I thought that technique was lost after He died."

"Who died?" Sakura asked.

Both Gai and Kakashi looked at each other. "The Yondaime," Kakashi said softly.

This caused Sakura, Sasuke, and Neji to look up at Kakashi in astonishment. They could not believe what they had heard from Kakashi. They had all heard about the amazing abilities of the Yondaime, and to have the dobe, the dead last to be able to use techniques that the Yondaime could use surprised them all.

* * *

Hayate coughed softly, attempting to get rid of the stunned expression on his face. He could not believe what he had just seen. A technique that was known as an S-rank ninjutsu technique was used to win by a Genin. He quickly recovered to say, "Winner, Naruto."

Naruto smiled and approached Haku. He quickly raised her arm to distract everyone from noticing what he was really doing, which was awakening her.

Haku awoke to see Naruto's smiling face. She took a breath and sighed it out. "I lost," she said firmly.

"Yes, but you did quite well. At least it was longer than the last time," Naruto said as he smiled.

Haku shook her head, and got up. Her teammates and Zabuza who was smiling joined her. "You did well Haku, all of you did. Be proud of that." Zabuza said, as he saw his team nod in agreement. Naruto smiled and walked away.

Hayate coughed and said, "That concludes the Third Exam's preliminary matches."

With that the winners went to the first floor while the others left, save the winners teammates. Once assembled, Hayate spoke, "To those who have made it to the main matches of the Chuunin Exam's Third Exam… All are here, so congratulations."

The Hokage looked at the winners, 'Hmmm, there are seven Leaf and three Sand,' he thought. Grabbing his hat and readjusting it, he spoke, "I will now begin the explanation for the main matches."

'Finally,' Naruto thought.

* * *

Outside

* * *

Orochimaru and Kabuto were outside, Kabuto kneeling toward Orochimaru.

"The preliminary matches have concluded, and now they are about to begin the main matches," Kabuto said.

"This place has become so peaceful, no…" Orochimaru said. "This country has become soft, too used to peace. The rest of the countries are busy increasing their military influence."

Kabuto stood up, "Are you going to kill him now?" he asked.

Orochimaru slowly smiled, "Yes." He turned toward the open space. "Although I'm not sure if it's going to be fun killing that old geezer."

"Really?" Kabuto asked. This quickly got Orochimaru's attention. "To me, it seems like you are hesitating. The individual Hidden Villages are about to clash violently, and it will be a long conflict. The Hidden Village of Sound will be one of them. You are trying to be the trigger to it." Kabuto adjusted his glasses and turned toward Orochimaru. "And he is the bullet, right? Uchiha Sasuke-kun, was it? I wonder though why you have not given him your "special" seal."

Orochimaru turned and grinned, "Your speculation is so good, it creeps me out."

"That's not true," Kabuto said. "I didn't know about Dozu, Zaku, and Kin. When I was gathering information about Sasuke-kun, I had to purposely get hit to find out their abilities. You think too highly of me." He turned away from Orochimaru and continued, "It seems I have not gained your full trust yet."

Orochimaru smiled, "Was there a need to tell you, my right arm, about those mere children? That is proof that I trust you."

Kabuto turned back to Orochimaru.

"That is why… I'm going to ask you to take care of Sasuke-kun. I need you to watch him both. Note his progress and his level of strength." Orochimaru said. "Also, there is someone else that has caught my attention."

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Kabuto asked. "Is it because of your injury?"

Orochimaru quickly suppressed the anger that was building up inside of him. 'He is indeed sharp,' he thought. He quickly changed the subject, "Sasuke-kun is an avatar of vengeance who has survived to kill his brother, Itachi. He cannot die until he completes his goal. But when he fought, he knew that he couldn't win; yet he engaged me without fear of death. I thought he was the type who was more careful with his life. According to your information, it seems that contact with that Nine-Tails kid has changed Sasuke-kun's heart and goal." He pulled out a Nin card and used his chakra to view the information.

However, before the information could come out, a word formed on the card. "Boom!" it read. Quickly realizing what it was, Orochimaru threw the card away only to have it explode into a foul smelling gas cloud that settled on Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"What!" they both said as they proceed to exit from the cloud, throwing up and attempting to plug their nose to get rid of the smell. Once they exited, they removed the plugs only to find out that the smell still lingered.

"What is this smell," they thought. Orochimaru quickly pulled out the remainder of the Nin cards. He proceeded to use his chakra to reveal the information in the Nin cards.

* * *

We pull away from Orochimaru to Naruto and the others standing before the Hokage. Suddenly an explosion rocked the room and everyone was attempting to stay standing. Everyone that is except Naruto who didn't seem to move.

'Looks like Orochimaru found out about my surprises,' Naruto thought.

* * *

Back outside with Orochimaru and Kabuto

* * *

Orochimaru and Kabuto were lying face up within a blacked crater. After a few seconds, both let out a stunning cough, which formed a small black mushroom cloud to form and float away from them.

'I am really beginning to hate that Uzumaki,' Orochimaru thought as he remembered what the Nin card had said right before they exploded.

Hello fruitcake,

Good-bye fruitcake,

And stop staring at my ass!

Orochimaru knew only one person dared call him that, and if Naruto received training from that person… well, it would mean that Naruto had been hiding his abilities from everyone. 'Hmmm, I may be able to use that,' he thought as his body screamed out in pain. Kabuto soon appeared by his side to take them away from the scene before anyone could get there.

* * *

Back inside

* * *

"Your main match fights will be shown in front of everyone. We wish for all of you to show off your abilities as your country's representative power. Therefore, the main matches will begin in a month," the Hokage said.

"We're not going to do it right here, right now?" Sakura asked.

"The month is enough time to conduct appropriate preparations." The Hokage said.

"What do you mean?" Neji asked.

"In other words, we are going to announce to the feudal lords and head ninjas of the individual countries that the preliminary matches have ended." The Hokage said. "And time is needed to gather those people for the main matches."

'This geezer always says stuff in an indirect way…' Kankurō thought. "I still don't understand. Explain," he said.

"This time is used so that you can know your enemy and yourself better. It is a time to analyze the information you have gathered during the preliminary matches. The battles we had were just like real combat situations. It has been done where both parties knew nothing of each other," the Hokage said.

'It is true I didn't expect him to use sand as a weapon,' Shikamaru thought.

"But the main matches will not be like that," the Hokage said. "There are those who have revealed everything to their rivals. To make things fair, work hard and improve yourselves on your own in the coming month."

Naruto looked at the others, he knew that since he revealed his technique, he will have to use another tactic to win. His thoughts, however were interrupted by the Hokage.

"So, I want to let you guys go, but…" the Hokage said. "There is something important we must do before the main matches."

"Hurry up! What is it already? I have to go train." Ino and Sakura yelled together.

"Don't be so hasty. Take a piece of paper from the box that Anko is holding," the Hokage said.

"I'll walk, so take it in turns," Anko said.

Everyone took a piece of paper and opened it up. "Okay, everyone got one?" Ibiki said.

One by one the genin called out their number.

"One," Neji said.

"Five," Sakura said.

"Four," Sasuke said.

"Two," Naruto said.

"Six," Ino said.

"Seven," Shikamaru said.

"Nine," Shino said.

"Ten," Kankurō said.

"Eight," Temari said.

"Three," Gaara said.

"We will now tell you the match ups for the tournament," the Hokage said.

"What!" "That's what we drew for?" the genin called out.

"Ibiki, show the match ups," the Hokage said. Ibiki turned the clipboard around and showed the group the matches.

* * *

Neji Vs. Naruto

Gaara Vs. Sasuke

Sakura Vs. Ino

Shikamaru Vs. Temari

Shino Vs. Kankurō

* * *

'What? It's just a tournament?' Temari thought.

'I'm glad that I'm not in the same block as Gaara.' Kankurō thought.

'Uchiha Sasuke…' Gaara thought.

'Perfect,' Neji thought.

Naruto looked at the clipboard and nodded as he saw that he and Neji would be in the first fight.

"If it's a tournament, that means there's only one winner, right?" Shikamaru asked. "Does that mean that only one person can become a Chuunin?"

"No, that's not how it is. These main matches will have judges, including me, Kazakage, as well as the feudal lords and… head ninja from the other countries, who will be potential clients. These judges will grade you by watching you in the tournament. And those who are qualified to be a Chuunin, even if they lose in the first match, will become a Chuunin," the Hokage said.

"So there's a possibility that everyone here can become a Chuunin?" Temari asked.

"Yes, but that also means that it's possible for no one to become a Chuunin. Winning the matches in the tournament means that you are able to show off your skills more. Understand, Shikamaru-kun and Naruto-kun?" the Hokage asked. "That is all. We are adjourned until one month time."

* * *

Team Seven was waiting at the training ground for their sensei to appear. Naruto had already decided to continue to offer techniques for Sakura. He knew that she would need this to feel that she was not a hindrance to the group. He was in deep thought when Kakashi appeared behind him.

Unfortunately for Kakashi, he witnessed first hand why it was not a good idea for anyone to surprise Naruto when he was in deep thought. For one moment, he was behind Naruto, the next; he was flying head first toward a tree. Luckily, he was able to correct himself and landed safely on the tree. He turned to Naruto to see him rubbing the back of his head and apologizing for his actions.

Luckily, for Naruto, the others had not arrived to the training ground to see this, or it would have been hard for him to explain his actions.

Naruto realized that Kakashi was early and asked him why this was.

"Well, Naruto, the reason is that I wanted to let everyone know that we will be separating the team," Kakashi said.

"Nani? WHY?" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi shook his head and saw that the other two members were coming to the training ground. Once everyone was there, Kakashi continued, "As I was telling Naruto, I am separating the team. The reason is that since you all are in the final Chuunin exam there will be a chance that you will be facing one another. Since that is the case, it is best that you work on your techniques away from one another so that it levels the playing field if you face one another. Sasuke will be with me-"

"WHAT NO WAY! HOW COME THAT BASTARD GETS TO HAVE YOU AS A TRAINER!" Naruto yelled only to have the back of his head slapped by Sakura.

"Thank you, Sakura. Any way the reason is because of his Sharingan. There is only one other that has the ability of Sharingan within the Leaf and it is I. Sakura, I have Kurenai working with you on your genjutsu. And Naruto, I have someone working with you as well." Kakashi said as he saw the two other trainers walking toward Team Seven.

"Eeehh, who?" Naruto said.

"That would be me!" Ebisu called out.

Naruto turned around to see Ebisu. He quickly pointed at Ebisu in shock. "Eeehh… The Closet Pervert?" Naruto exclaimed.

"How impolite," Ebisu said as he adjusts his glasses.

This causes a ruckus within the group. The reason was that most of them could not believe what Naruto had just said.

"Ebisu-sensei is a closet pervert?" Kakashi asked.

"Why! Why is this guy going to be the one watching over my training!" Naruto said. "He's weaker than me to begin with!"

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"Because, because!" Naruto said as he turned toward Kakashi, while still pointing at Ebisu. "Last time, when I used my Harem no Jutsu on him…"

This caused Ebisu to remember what happened. Shakily, he thought, 'Is he going to…?' He quickly grappled Naruto and covered his mouth.

"Harem no Jutsu?" Kakashi asked.

"No, it's nothing," Ebisu said and began to laugh.

Meanwhile Kurenai and Sakura both were beginning to get a general picture of what Naruto was saying. They both stared deeply into the back of Ebisu, with suspicion.

"I'll treat you to anything you want later, so please don't tell anyone about that." Ebisu said softly.

"Promise?" Naruto asked.

Meanwhile Kakashi was wondering what was going on. "I didn't know you two met before."

Ebisu chuckled and patted Naruto on the head. "We met unwillingly, though," he said. 'I will not forget the humiliation I went through,' he thought as his eyebrow twitched erratically.

"Why him?" Naruto asked Kakashi. "I really don't like this."

"Why would I even want to teach you had Kakashi-kun not asked it to me?" Ebisu asked.

"Then don't," Naruto said with his arms crossed.

"Now, now, you two. Don't say that." Kakashi said as he got closer to them. "Naruto, Ebisu-sensei is a personal teacher who instructs the elite. He is a special Jounin, as well. He's better at teaching than me, actually," he whispered.

Naruto bowed his head and decided to see what Ebisu had to say. Naruto took Ebisu to his favorite ramen shop and began eating while listening to Ebisu. After hearing Ebisu's lecture about control, Naruto lifted his head and reflected on what Ebisu had said.

'Is he right, is it me?' Naruto thought.

**'HARDLY KIT…'** The Kyuubi replied.

'Then what is it?' Naruto asked.

**'WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE CAUSE OF IT?'** the Kyuubi said.

'So how can I change it?' Naruto thought.

**'WELL, THERE ARE TWO WAYS, ONE IS GET USE TO THE INCREASED WEIGHTS…'** the Kyuubi said.

'And the other?' Naruto asked.

**'YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I WHAT YOU MUST DO,'** the Kyuubi said firmly.

Naruto looked depressed, he knew what the Kyuubi was talking about, however, Naruto was putting it off, because of where he was and what he needed to do. 'If we do this we need to be far away from here,' he thought.

The Kyuubi nodded. **'I KNOW KIT… BUT IT DOESN'T SEPARATE THE FACT THAT IT NEEDS TO BE DONE.'**

Naruto nodded, and turned toward Ebisu, "Let's do this," Naruto said.

Ebisu nodded and got up.

But before he could go, the cook called out, "Hey mister, you didn't pay yet."

"Oh, yes," Ebisu said as he looked at table only to see sixteen bowls that Naruto had eaten. He jaw dropped at the immense number of bowls that was in front of him. He saw the cook and the waitress rubbing their hands in happiness. Ebisu slumped down and paid for the meal.

* * *

Naruto and Ebisu walked to the local hot spring, along the way Naruto was in deep thought with the Kyuubi, talking to it about what he needed to do to improve himself. So deep in thought was Naruto that he continued to walk right pass Ebisu toward the women's side of the hot spring.

"HEY!" Ebisu called out, "Naruto-kun! That way leads to the women's hot spring! I will not allow any shameless acts in my presence!"

Naruto stopped and walked back toward Ebisu. Once he was close, Naruto looked at Ebisu and asked, "So where is the training?"

Ebisu smiled and walked toward the hot spring. "This is your training," he said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked at Ebisu wanting an explanation. Ebisu smiled and said, "You are going to walk on water."

Naruto continued to stare in disbelief until Ebisu used a hand seal and began walking on water. Naruto was stunned he quickly did just what Ebisu did only to have himself dunked into the hot spring. Ebisu watched as Naruto attempted to do it again and again. This caused Ebisu to think back and remembered Konohamaru and his declaration after facing Naruto. Ebisu was so proud of him. He realized that what Naruto had told Konohamaru was true. This cause Ebisu to watch as Naruto again failed in his water walking exercise. Slowly, Naruto began to get the hang of the walking exercise.

'He has grasped the trick to perform this Chakra control so quickly? I never expected you to grow so much. It is true that there is no quick way to accomplish things. It seems that I misunderstood you. You were a teacher smarter than me. You were not just a monster fox. You are an excellent Konoha ninja,' Ebisu thought. However, that soon ended when Naruto pointed behind him. Ebisu turned his head to see a man peeking into the women's area of the hot spring. Ebisu adjusted his sunglasses and said, "I don't know who you are…" He quickly charged toward the pervert. "But I will not allow any shameless acts in my presence!"

The pervert turned around and a smoke cloud was conjured up. When the smoke dissipated, the pervert was standing on a large frog. Before Ebisu could react, the frog shot it's tongue out and wrapped it around Ebisu. Once it had finished it quickly slammed Ebisu down on the ground… HARD.

Naruto got up from the hot spring, he went over to Ebisu and began shaking him. Noticing that it wasn't working Naruto decided to take an extreme measure. Forming a dog seal, he cried out, "Sennin Goroshi!" He stabbed the seal into Ebisu's rear, but did not get a reaction. 'He must really be out,' Naruto thought as the pervert canceled the frog. Looking up, Naruto smile and yelled, "OHAYO, ERO-SENIN!"

Jiraiya quickly went over to Naruto and hit the back of Naruto's head. "STOP CALLING ME THAT GAKI!" he yelled. Jiraiya chuckled and said, "How are you doing, Gaki?"

Naruto smiled, "Okay really, what are you doing here?"

Jiraiya smiled, "Information gathering… So is he here?"

Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, but I won't tell him about the peeking, Ero-senin."

Jiraiya sighed, and struck Naruto. "Stop calling me that, gaki," he said.

Naruto rubbed his head. "Not likely," he said. "Come on, the old man would love to see you." Naruto quickly disappeared.

Jiraiya nodded and did the same thing.

* * *

At the Hokage Tower

* * *

"I forgot to ask why were you doing the water walking, I thought you already knew how to do it?" Jiraiya asked.

"I do, its all part of my act," Naruto responded.

Jiraiya nodded and saw Sandaime walk into the room. With a smile, he embraced the Sandaime. After a brief pause, the three of them settled down. After a brief review of what had happened that afternoon, the Sandaime sat back and looked at Naruto.

"Are you upset?" asked Sandaime.

"Not really, why?" Naruto answered.

"Kakashi chose to train Sasuke instead of you." Sandaime responded.

"Kakashi feels that training Sasuke to use his Sharingan for longer periods of time will help him in the long run. Besides I have better trainers, isn't that right… Ken-sensei?" Naruto said.

Ken chuckled as he came from behind the Hokage. "You are learning to distinguish auras better, Naruto." He said with a smile. "However, I will not be training you for the first half of your time."

"Ohhh, then who?" asked Naruto.

"Who do you think, gaki?" Jiraiya said.

"Ehhh, ERO-SENIN?" Naruto yelled.

BAM!

"Stop calling me that, gaki!" Jiraiya yelled.

"I will once you stop being a pervert, Ero-senin." Naruto replied.

The argument continued between the two, while the Sandaime and Kenshiro both laughed at them both.

* * *

The next day

* * *

"So what are going to learn, Ero-senin," Naruto asked.

Jiraiya looked at Naruto, and said, "We will learn how to summon."

Naruto smiled with excitement.

"But first," Jiraiya said. He quickly bit his thumb and slashed the blood across his palm. Making some hand seals, he quickly slammed his hand on the ground and called, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A toad appeared underneath Jiraiya, it slowly unrolled its tongue and gave the scroll to Naruto.

Naruto unraveled the scroll; he saw the signatures on the scroll. He saw the last signature and traced it with his fingers. "My father?" he asked.

Jiraiya silently cursed himself for his thoughtlessness. "Yes," he said softly.

Naruto nodded. He remembered what was the teachers had told him about his father. From all that he had heard about his father, it seemed that Naruto would be a pale comparison to him. However, from what Ken and Jiraiya had told him, his father would have been proud to have Naruto as a son. Now with the scroll in front of him, Naruto was reminded about how much he missed his father. He wiped away the tears that had formed, and looked at Jiraiya waiting for an explanation on what to do next.

Jiraiya watched Naruto, once he saw Naruto was ready, he continued. "This is the contract of the frogs for summonsing purposes. It has been passed down for many generations, and now I have it. First, write down your name with your blood… And beneath that, put down your handprint."

Naruto did as he was told.

"Now, mold Chakra and place the hand you used on the contract to where you want to summon the thing. The seals are the Boar, the Dog, the Bird, the Monkey, and the Sheep." Jiraiya said.

* * *

Naruto did as he was told. However, just as he was about to finish with the handprint, the Kyuubi interrupted him. Naruto suddenly found himself in front of the cage. "What is it that you want Kyuubi?" Naruto asked.

"KIT, IT IS TIME," the Kyuubi said.

"WHAT!" Naruto exclaimed. "I thought you wanted to wait until we were far from Konoha?"

"NOT THAT KIT!" the Kyuubi yelled, "I AM GOING TO LET YOU HAVE ANOTHER SUMMONING"

Naruto looked at the Kyuubi with a blank stare. "Is that even possible?" he asked.

"YEAH IT IS… THE THING IS THAT YOU HAVE TO USE THE OTHER ARM TO SUMMON," the Kyuubi said. He saw that Naruto was going to ask a question, so it continued, "ONE ARM IS USED TO SUMMON ONE SUMMONING, WHILE THE OTHER IS USED TO DO THE SAME BUT WITH ANOTHER SUMMONING." Seeing that Naruto was beginning to understand, the Kyuubi continued his lecture.

* * *

The outer world

* * *

Jiraiya was beginning to get nervous. Naruto was still looking at the summoning contract and had not moved for the pass three minutes. He knew that the only reason that could be was that Naruto was talking to the Kyuubi. Jiraiya decided to awaken Naruto to see what the Kyuubi had to say. He shook Naruto once, then another, and another, and another until he finally had reached the end of his patience.

"GAKIIII!" he yelled into Naruto's ear.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed. He quickly stared at Jiraiya, and used his finger to try to remove the ringing in his ear. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT ERO-SENIN!" Naruto yelled.

"You were not paying attention to me," Jiraiya said.

"EEEEEHHHHH! YOU SAY SOMETHING?" Naruto yelled. The ringing still did not stop.

Several veins began popping up on the back of his head. 'Stupid little…' Jiraiya thought as he realized that Naruto was still deaf from his yell. After counting to twenty, he began again. "YOU WERE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO ME!" he yelled.

"I heard you, Ero-senin. You don't have to yell." Naruto said.

Jiraiya grumbled about gaki and their idiocy, before shaking his head. Realizing that Naruto still had not answered his question. "What were you doing?" he asked.

Naruto smiled, he lifted his hand and did a come hither with his first finger. Once Jiraiya was close enough, he said, "It's a secret," he whispered.

Jiraiya suddenly found himself on the ground. He quickly got up and decided to respond to Naruto's statement.

Bonk!

"ITAI!" Naruto said as he grasped his head.

Jiraiya grumbled and said, "Just do the summoning."

Naruto nodded. He quickly went through the seals and slammed his hand down. Remembering what the Kyuubi said, Naruto used a third of his chakra. He, quickly, yelled out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke covered the area; suddenly Naruto found himself several miles above the ground. Looking around he soon saw that he was standing on a large red frog. "YATA!" Naruto yelled as he began dancing around on top of the frog. That soon ended as the frog leaned forward causing Naruto to land on the frog's nose.

The frog was not happy. "Are you the one! Whose head do you think you're prancing around on?" the frog yelled. "I am the Frog Boss Gamabunta! You Idiot! Be quiet!"

"What is this guy?" Naruto asked. "He seems strong, but…"

"I haven't breathed the air of the outside world in a long time. And there's a weird, noisy kid on my head. Hey! Jiraiya!" Gamabunta yelled. "Where are you, Jiraiya? What is the meaning of this?"

By this time Jiraiya was far away from Gamabunta and Naruto. He was having other ideas as he heard Gamabunta yell. Quickly hiding behind a tree to lessen his chances of getting caught, he thought, "This isn't good… Even I can not control Gamabunta that well."

"Jiraiya! Come out, you idiot!" Gamabunta yelled.

"It's going to be troubling for me if he finds me." Jiraiya said as he creeps away. "It's time for me to take my leave."

Gamabunta looked at Naruto. "Hey kid."

"Yes?" Naruto asked.

"Where's Jiraiya?" Gamabunta asked.

Naruto looked curiously at Gamabunta, "Jiraiya, what do you want with that pervert?" Naruto asked.

"I want to have a word with him," Gamabunta said. Seeing that this did not have any reaction to Naruto, he continued, "If you do as I say, I can make you my subordinate. So answer me!"

Naruto nodded, "Boss. Ero-senin is right there." Naruto pointed to the place that Jiraiya last was only to see that he was no longer there. "Well he was there. Ummm… May I ask something?"

"Hmmm… What?" Gamabunta asked.

"Um, what business do you have with Ero-senin?" Naruto asked.

"That's what I want to know! That perverted geezer… Why did he summon me to this place? What is he up to?" Gamabunta declared.

"Oh, but…" Naruto said.

"What?" Gamabunta asked.

"I'm the one that summoned you, Frog Boss, sir." Naruto said.

Gamabunta looked closely at Naruto before letting out a boisterous laugh. "A small kid like yourself could never summon me," Gamabunta declared.

"I really did summon you!" Naruto exclaimed.

Gamabunta stared at Naruto and then burst into laughter.

Naruto watched Gamabunta. As the seconds became minutes, Naruto became more and more furious at Gamabunta's taunting laughter. Finally, Naruto had enough, unleashing his full killer intent at Gamabunta, which cause Gamabunta to instantly quiet down, Naruto yelled, "YOU STUPID FROG!"

Gamabunta stared at Naruto, who raised his fist at the frog.

"Don't get so cocky just because I'm being polite here!" Naruto yelled. "I summoned you, so that means I'm your master!"

Gamabunta stared at Naruto, he had only felt this killer intent twice before, and one of those times was against the Kyuubi. However, unlike Kyuubi, there was no evil intent just killer intent. 'Just like…' Gamabunta thought as he stared at Naruto. Finally he spoke, "What did you say? Do you know who you're talking to? You aren't even old enough to drink yet, and you're saying that you are the great Gamabunta's master? Do you want me to kill you?" It was then that Gamabunta's tongue launched itself outwards and toward Naruto. Naruto dodge the tongue and began backpedaling. As soon as Naruto was toward the cuff of Gamabunta's jacket, the tongue stopped and Gamabunta launched himself into the air.

Naruto felt the air pressure push down on him as Gamabunta launched himself high into the air. Then a moment of weightlessness overcame Naruto as he saw that Gamabunta was going down. Realizing that Gamabunta was falling, Naruto quickly made a swimming motion toward the cuff of Gamabunta's jacket. Once they had landed, Naruto lost his balance and fell forward, hitting the ground below. Naruto quickly arose and looked up, and up, and up some more (gee, seeing a pattern here?) until he saw the nose of Gamabunta.

Gamabunta laughed and came down to Naruto's level. "Hey, kid!" he said, "Even if I assume that you summoned me… I am not going to accept a guy who falls of my back so easily." Gamabunta said as he nudged Naruto. "Now, I haven't been out here in a while… But if Jiraiya has no business for me, I'll just hang around here."

"Hey wait!" Naruto yelled.

"Go home and sleep!" Gamabunta exclaimed. "You can't even handle being my subordinate." With that Gamabunta began crawling away.

Naruto was pissed. He knew that Gamabunta had a point, but it still did not make it any easier. He quickly stood up and ran. He quickly jumped onto Gamabunta's jacket and continued to run until he got to the back Gamabunta's head. Once there he leapt up and landed on Gamabunta's nose, where he quickly turned and faced Gamabunta.

"What are you trying to do, kid?" Gamabunta asked.

"If you're going to accepted the fact that I summoned you if I don't fall off your back…" Naruto stated. He quickly turned and sat on Gamabunta's nose focusing his chakra to steady himself on it. "I'll stay here all day, and not fall off."

"What!" Gamabunta yelled.

Naruto turned his head and continued, "And I'll make you accept me as your master."

Gamabunta was furious. "You stupid kid!" he exclaimed, "I was being nice, and now you've grown impudent!" He quickly began shaking his head back and forth. "Fall!" he cried.

Naruto remained steadfast. "Listen up carefully, Frog Boss! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage one day! Remember that!"

"I don't care!" Gamabunta exclaimed and he continued to try to remove Naruto from his nose.

* * *

Meanwhile on a treetop FAR away from Naruto and Gamabunta

* * *

Jiraiya was watching the interaction between Naruto and Gamabunta. 'Looks like Naruto is having a hard time with Gamabunta,' he thought as he saw the gigantic frog attempt to shake off Naruto. He turned when he heard a sound. Moving some of the underbrush, his cheeks quickly became pink. He quickly grabbed his telescope and looked downward. "I should help Naruto, but I think I should return to my original task," he said as he watched three bikini-clad women splashing themselves in the water. "Data gathering. Data gathering," he said as blood began to dribble down from his nose, as one of the girl's bikini-top came undone.

* * *

Backing away from a pervert's paradise, and

Back to Naruto

* * *

For the next five hours, Naruto had to admit that it was coming close to the hard that he had to deal with. The Frog Boss attempted to use speed to knock him off, then he was repeatedly slammed into trees. If it hadn't been for the training that he received from Ken-sama, he would have been seriously hurt. This accumulated to the situation Naruto was currently in. Gamabunta was showing Naruto how comfortable frogs were in the water, or more precisely, underwater.

'Damn it, this kid is tough,' Gamabunta thought. He quickly launched himself into the air for the seventh time, and landed in the lagoon for the seventh time. He changed his tactics once again and began swimming in the lagoon as fast as he could, trying to get rid of Naruto.

* * *

Back to the Ero-senin

* * *

"That Naruto sure is having a hard time," he said as he watched Gamabunta swim back and forth in the lagoon. "First to summon Gamabunta, and then to have to stay there using chakra… I wonder how much chakra he possesses?" Jiraiya said out loud.

"Sugoi, look a rainbow. It's so beautiful," a voice cried out behind him.

"How wonderful!" another voice exclaimed.

Jiraiya quickly turned and produced a perverted grin. "Yes, very wonderful," he said in higher pitched voice, as he nodded.

* * *

Back to Naruto

* * *

It was dusk went Gamabunta finally stopped his tirade. Naruto had remained on the frog boss's nose the entire day. Gamabunta knew he was on his last leg, and to have a child show him up was disgraceful. "Hey kid," Gamabunta called out. Once he got Naruto's attention, he continued, "What's your name?" He had forgot what Naruto had said earlier, because he was too busy trying to get the kid off his nose.

"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto shouted with joy.

"Uzumaki Naruto, eh?" Gamabunta said, "Naruto, don't blame me if you die!" He hunched down and launched himself upward.

This caused Naruto to be violently pressed down on Gamabunta. Once Gamabunta landed, Naruto found that his hold had been disrupted. Naruto began to twirl around. As he saw the edge come closer, he knew that he had to stay on Gamabunta's head. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" he cried as he went over the edge. Narutos appeared on the nose of Gamabunta, one after another had lunged after Naruto grabbing each other. Eventually forming a chain from Gamabunta's nose to Naruto. Slowly, the Narutos pulled Naruto back to Gamabunta's nose. Once Naruto was back on top, he began to dance, not caring anymore as he knew that he remained on the Frog Boss for the whole day. However, he soon stopped and slowly fell from Gamabunta's head.

* * *

"NO! If he falls from there, he'll die!" Jiraiya screamed. Jiraiya watched as Naruto fell from Gamabunta, suddenly Gamabunta's tongue launched from his mouth. Naruto fell onto the tongue, which slowly rolled itself around Naruto and dragged him upwards.

* * *

"Not bad, kid. You won, for now," Gamabunta said as he placed Naruto back on his nose.

Suddenly, a scroll flew passed him and unrolled to show Naruto, Arashi, and Jiraiya's name on it.

Gamabunta looked at the scroll and hmphed. 'Jiraiya… That was unnecessary… I knew that he summoned me with his own power. Since the last person who was able to get on top my head was the Fourth, it stands to reason that his son could do the same. He must be dead tired by now. I can share some of my power… But taking him there would be the best for him.

* * *

Konoha's Hospital

* * *

BOOOM!

The explosion and aftershock caused every nurse, doctor, and some patients to run toward the window. When the dust cloud dissipated, everyone saw a huge frog print and right beside it was Naruto with a huge grin.

* * *

Three weeks later

* * *

Naruto was breathing hard. After his brief time in the hospital, Jiraiya and Naruto spent the rest of the two weeks summoning every other frog summon. This allowed Naruto to get to know each of the frog summons personally. At night, the Kyuubi spoke at length with Naruto about his summons. After the first two weeks, Ken-sama took over Naruto training. Naruto shivered slightly as he remembered what happened earlier today.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Kenshiro took Naruto to the outer most edge of Konoha. Once there, Kenshiro turned to Naruto.

"Are you ready?" Kenshiro asked.

Naruto knew what was going to happen, before he left to Konoha, Kenshiro began a new regiment, a regiment with one simple rule… Fight, fight until you can't fight anymore, and then fight some more. Each fight was brutal, whether it was short and vicious or long and arduous. Both were extreme hard. The short fights were extreme, an all out fight using Hokuto Shin Ken techniques, the long fights were used to strengthen his endurance. Each fight would be different as Kenshiro showed Naruto new techniques, and how to block them. Realizing what Kenshiro had asked, Naruto got into his favorite position and nodded.

Kenshiro smiled, and the fight began.

* * *

End of Flashback

* * *

This was not the end of it. After the fight, Naruto asked Kenshiro for some knowledge on a certain Nanto Sei Ken style. Naruto smiled as he remembered the lessons that followed, and promised himself that the next he faces Neji it will be a memorial one.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry, Dragonlord, but your speech was so stirring that I had to have Naruto say it. It was soooo cool. For those of you how don't know read Star of War by Dragonlord to see what speech I used. Like I said It was sooooo cool.

A question came up about Naruto's abilities. I want to note that Naruto is not the Heir of the Hokuto Shin Ken. Right now he is in training, so his strength and abilities will be less than Ken, I wanted this to be done because I have yet to decide if Naruto will go on the three year journey or not. Anyway, the second Chuunin exam is over, training has finished. We are now ready for the final Chuunin exam.

Also, be prepared, I am altering some Jutsus and ways of thinking from here on. I know that many people have questions about some so here is one:

Hiraishin no Jutsu – According to it is:

This jutsu allows the user to move over large distances with ultra-high speed. Although it is often compared with the Shuushin no Jutsu, the speed of the Hiraishin is much faster then that of the Shunshin and the principle behind Hiraishin is similar to Kuchiyose no Jutsu.

To activate this jutsu, the user needs a special seal or "Jutsu-shiki" to mark the destination. After this is done, the user can almost instantaneously transport himself to the location of the Jutsu-shiki.

The Yondaime applied the Jutsu-shiki in advance to weapons such as kunai. It's also possible to leave a Jutsu-shiki in an area touched by the user.

However, in my fanfic. Yondaime was trained by Ken which means that he is faster and more powerful than any other ninja. The "Truth" to the Hiraishin no Jutsu is that it is a marker that only the Yondaime and Naruto can sense, which lets them know where to go. At the speed that Naruto and Yondaime travel only the true heir can see at that rate of speed, which means that Naruto and Yondaime are not at the level, so they need a marker to pinpoint where they are going. I kind of think of it as a Marco Polo game, where Naruto (Marco) uses his senses to detect a position (Polo).

Also to give you a hint about another alteration… Why did Naruto say nine? Can you guess why?

The training is over, I am stronger, and ready for that idiot genius. Wait where is Sasuke? Don't tell me that Kakashi's lateness is rubbing off on that bastard.

Next time on Fist of Naruto: It is here the third Chuunin Exam is underway. But what will happen when Naruto has to face Neji. And… the attack of Sound and Sand.

My apologies, I was reviewing the last chapter when I realized my mistake. The training period was one month not three. I have corrected it. Also, I had a major case of the writer's block.


	13. Chapter 11 Preview and Poll

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

Author's notes: My apologies to everyone, I am sorry for not being able to get this chapter out to you so quickly, but I have been looking for a new job, and that caused me to stall on all my other projects. Thank you for your patience.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

(A Preview)

The Calm Before the Storm

* * *

Naruto screamed as he awoke with a start. For the past 10 days, Kenshiro continuously trained Naruto as the days and nights blurred to one continuous fight. Naruto was pushed to the extreme and beyond as Ken would constantly use new techniques to force Naruto to create counters. Along with that Ken had increased the amount of weight on Naruto, which made it even harder for Naruto. But through it all Naruto never complained, only got right back up and into fighting position. By the end of the 10 days, Naruto collapsed… mainly because there was nothing left within him.

Naruto looked around and soon realize that he was not alone. Rubbing the back of his head, he gave a silly embarrassed grin to his visitor… Shikamaru. "Heheheheee, yo?" he said.

Shikimaru shook his head. "Teeee, so troublesome," he said as he looked to his game. After he mesmerized where the game was, he turned back to Naruto. "Hey. Finally awake?" he asked.

"Where am I?" Naruto asked, as he sat down and turned his head.

"The hospital," Shikamaru said. "I heard you were asleep for three days straight."

"Three days? Three…" Naruto said groggily. He quickly became angry and leapt back up to his feet.

"W-What?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shikamaru, when are the final matches?!?!" Naruto yelled.

"Tomorrow…" Shikamaru said.

Naruto sat back down. He breathed a sigh of relief. After all the training he had been through with Ken-sama, he was happy that he would not miss the final matches of the tournament. Although Ken-sama had reminded him not to show any techniques and to face each challenge with seriousness, the chance to show everyone what he could do still excited him. A feeling that he was proving to those people just how good he was, felt satisfying.

Suddenly, he felt something was wrong but he couldn't figure out what it was. As he looked around he noticed the hourglass. "What's going on with that?" he asked Shikamaru.

"Hmmm," Shikamaru asked, he followed Naruto's eyes to the hourglass. "Oh, I don't know. It just stopped. It might be stuck," he said as Naruto grabbed the hourglass. He watched as Naruto moved the hourglass from one side to the other.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, the sand did not move at all, even when rotating the hourglass it remained the same. Naruto quickly went to the closet to get his clothes. He quickly put them on and looked at Shikamaru. "We need to go," he stated firmly.

"Naniii!!! What for???" Shikamaru asked. He did not know what Naruto was doing, but the fact that he quickly put on his clothes and was interested in the hourglass, he knew that it couldn't be good. Sure he remembered the times when he and Naruto would gather with others, and have fun. He never saw Naruto in a serious mood, until recently. After the preliminary round, he began thinking that the Naruto that everyone thought was in fact not the "true" Naruto. Shikamaru shook his head; these thoughts could wait right now Naruto needed him to watch his back. Something that Shikamaru knew he would gladly do.

The door opened to Lee's hospital room. Sabuku no Gaara slowly entered the room. His memories were still free from the fight. He remembered each punch, each kick, and the pain that was produced when Lee broke through his defenses. For weeks Gaara heard his mother whisper into his ear, demanding the blood of the attacker. Lee was able to get out of being punished, how it happened still haunts Gaara's mind. He had waited until that pink haired girl left before he entered into the room. He wanted to take his time with what he had planned for Lee. As he approached the bed, the sand began covering Lee's body. Gaara began remember how Lee had escaped from him, how his commander had destroyed the sand that was about to end Lee's life.

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Gaara grabbed his head in pain and asked, "Why? Why did you help him?"

Gai looked at Gaara and said, "He's… He's… an important subordinate I love."

Gaara looked at Gai and then at Naruto who was working on Lee. Naruto, without taking his eyes of Lee, said, "He is one of my important people. I will defend my life for him."

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Love that was something that was always described to him but Gaara never knew what it truly meant. His mind flashed back to his early life, and Yashamaru… Gaara grabbed his head as the pain of his first intentional kill went through his mind. The sand responded and began wrapping around Lee. Gaara breathed heavily as he reached out his hand to crush this insect.

'My body…' screamed through the mind of Gaara as he found himself unable to move, 'won't move.' He turned his eyes to see two other Nins looking back at him… Shikamaru, and… Naruto.

"What the hell are you doing here, Gaara?" Naruto demanded as he looked intensely at Gaara. "What are you trying to do?"

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief as he was able to use Kagemane no Jutsu to stop Gaara from moving. He remembered the preliminary match, how affective Gaara was with his sand.

He was beginning to get worried as Gaara remained emotionless and stared at he and Naruto. He was about to repeat Naruto's question when Naruto quickly asked.

"Well!! What did you try to do to Fuzzy Eyebrow?!?!" Naruto demanded.

Gaara stared intently at Naruto, he could not hear his mother when this blond-haired spoke. It was as if his mother was listening to every word this kid said. He quickly steadied himself and looked at Naruto. "I tried to kill him," he stated in his quite voice.

"WHAT?!?" Both Naruto and Shikamaru exclaimed.

'How can he remain so calm?' Shikamaru thought. 'He shouldn't be able to move because of my Kagemane no Jutsu.' Shikamaru prepared himself and said, "Why do you need to do that? You won the match. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"

"No." Gaara stated calmly. "I'm going to kill him, because I want him dead."

"You grew up in a bad environment, didn't you?" Shikamaru continued his questioning. "You're really egocentric." But Shikamaru was thinking differently from what he had said. 'Actually, this guy is weird. I'm getting the chills. If he does something, I don't think even Naruto will be able to handle him. Geez, what should I do…?'

"If you bother me, I will kill you, too." Gaara continued.

Naruto was squeezing his fists tight, he knew things were bad but Gaara seemed determined to piss him off. His distain behavior and his attempt to kill Fuzzy Eyebrows had put him on edge. He knew that

'I guess I'll bluff to see how he'll react.' Shikamaru thought. "We know that you're strong, since we saw your match with him. But… This guy here and I are pretty strong as well. We didn't show our strongest move in the preliminaries. And it's two versus one here. You're at a disadvantage. If you listen to us, we can let you go." Shikamaru said.

"I'm only going to say this once more. If you bother me, I'll kill you!" Gaara said.

'This guy…' Shikamaru thought. But before he could continue Naruto began chuckling.

Naruto said, "You think your strong, you think you're a monster. You don't know the meaning of the word."

Naruto listen as Shikamaru and Gaara spoke. As Gaara explained how he became who he was and what was done to him. Naruto felt the blood drip from his fists, he watched Shikamaru response to Gaara's explanation. After Shikamaru's horrified expression on how Gaara was forced into becoming a weapon for the Sand, Naruto knew that Shikamaru was not ready to find out about Arashi's sacrifice and the village's response to his "gift".

Naruto listened to Gaara speech about his life and his torment that was brought upon him from his father. Naruto knew that this kind of traumatic life would cause an imbalance that would also help further Shukaku's attempt to corrupt his host. Thereby releasing himself into the world again. Naruto knew how he felt, for the first few years of his life he was tormented like Gaara. However, unlike Gaara, who was only attacked by his father, Naruto was constantly beaten and abused by the people of Konoha. Gaara, because of his relations with the living Kazekage, was shielded from the more violent attackers. Naruto shook those thoughts from his head as he felt Gaara begin his manipulation of the sand.

Naruto waited and allowed Gaara to continue with his sand manipulation. He faked fearing Gaara so that neither Shikamaru nor Gaara would think of him as a threat. Naruto could feel that Gai was coming closer and he prayed that Gai would show up before Naruto had to respond to the growing threat that Gaara was rising to as he It was with the intervention of Gai that cause Gaara to stand down and leave. Both Gai and Shikamaru watched him go.

Shikamaru suddenly remembered how Naruto rushed force him to come along and defend Lee. He turned to Naruto to ask him how he knew about Gaara, only to find a chibified Naruto doll with a note attached stating, "I'll see you tomorrow, Shika-chan!!!"

Shikamaru grumbled. "Troublesome," he growled.

* * *

Outside the hospital

* * *

Gaara was walking away from the hospital, he was contemplating how Gai's reaction had cause him pain. It hurt him, hearing the conviction from Gai about his student. He had never known why it did, but he wanted it to end.

But as much as Gai's word and conviction cause him pain, Gaara would wonder why his mother would stop speaking when Naruto talked. It sent a shiver up his spine because for as long as he remembered his mother would always speak with him. But for some reason he knew that his mother feared Naruto, and did not know what to do about it.

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

Naruto was waiting at the training ground. He looked up at the sky, he remembered back before Kenshiro took him away from this place. He remembered the curses, the yelling, the beatings… especially the beatings. He knew that on some level, Gaara had every right to be angry. However, even with all the excuses, it still did not excuse Gaara from the acts that he committed. Naruto took a deep breath, he felt that he would eventually have to deal with Gaara. He just hoped that he was strong enough to do face him.

Suddenly, Naruto feel a familiar presence hiding from him. "Hinata-chan," he said, "What have I said about lurking in the shadows?" He smiled as he heard a small squeak coming from the where Hinata was hiding.

Hinata slowly walked up to Naruto, she was still very shy around Naruto, even with the training that he gave her. However, once she was close to Naruto, she was surprised when Naruto produced a scroll and handed it to her. She looked at the scroll in wonder and then back to Naruto with a questioning look.

"This scroll is from very wise man, use it well, Hinata-chan," Naruto stated. "Do it in secret. And remember, NEVER let anyone but your Heir use this scroll, and the secrets I taught you." Naruto said, as he saw Hinata nod. "Now is there anything I can do for you," he asked.

Hinata took her eyes away from the scroll and blushed as she stared at Naruto. "H-h-hai…" she stated softly. "Naruto about Neji-"

However, before she could speak, Naruto raised his hand, and stopped her. "I know you want me to take it easy on him right?"

Hinata nodded her head.

"Normally I would take that under advisement, however, he needs to see some things that will change his and your family's view of the world. Not to mention how others will perceive them. I want you to come and watch as well. Okay?" Naruto said.

Hinata nodded.

Naruto smiled, "Good, I will see you there." Naruto turned around and began running toward the arena.

Hinata watched as Naruto ran toward the stadium. 'He believes in me,' she thought as she held the scroll that he gave her. She had heard the story behind what the scroll, and the power that it had in its pages. She swore to herself that she would become stronger, for him… for… him… Hinata's face became bright red as two streams of blood shot from her nose.

Kiba came looking for Hinata, only to find her on the ground. Her face was still bright red with a big smile on it. Kiba lifted an eyebrow, and shook Hinata. "Oy, Hinata…Hinata!!! HINATA!!!!!!!!"

* * *

Naruto was running toward the stadium, he knew that he could go faster, but he figured that he could waste time to arrive in style. As he ran, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Naruto nii-chan!" the voice cried out.

Naruto skidded to a halt and looked around to see who called him. He finally rested his eyes to a familiar sight. "Konohamaru?" he asked.

Konohamaru smiled, "I've arrived to save the day!" he exclaimed as he did a thumb's up for Naruto.

Naruto looked at Konohamaru questioningly. "Konohamaru, why are you here?" he said as he walked Konohamaru.

"We'll talk later. Come over here!" Konohamaru said as he turned and ran. "I know of a secret way to get to the stage directly!" he continued.

Naruto raised one of his eyebrows and decided to follow him. "After all," he thought, "It would only take him a few minutes to get there." He followed Konohamaru and watched as Konohamaru knelt down and walked around some of the tall grass to show a metal sheet.

"Eeeehehehehe, they repaired it." Konohamaru said.

Naruto smiles and grabs Konohamaru. "Let me show you a faster way," he said. Naruto disappeared with Konohamaru in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

The Arena

* * *

The group had gathered, the arena had gathered to full capacity. In the arena ground, every contestant had gathered except two: Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. However, a bright flash had appeared in front of the contestant. Naruto and Konohamaru appeared within a swirl of leaves. Naruto turned and scanned the arena once he saw Sarutobi he smiled. "Hey, Old Man… CATCH!!!" he cried as he grabbed Konohamaru and threw him to Sarutobi.

Sarutobi barely had time to catch his grandson. But once, he did, he grumbled about overzealous yellow-haired genins, just as the tournament began.

* * *

On the Arena ground

* * *

Naruto looked around and noticed someone missing. "Where is Sasuke?" he asked. When he saw that no one knew where he was, he shook his head. "I hope Kakashi-sensei does not give Sasuke lessons on being late," he said as he imagined Sasuke with a facemask holding the Icha Icha Paradise. He quickly shook his head and waited to see what would happen with the first fight.

* * *

In the Kage Seating area

* * *

After sending Konohamaru back to school, Saturobi saw a Chunnin appear next to him. The Chuunin appeared beside the Hokage and whispered in his ear. "Hokage-sama, Sasuke has not arrived, what do we do?" the Chuunin asked.

The Hokage looked at the audience, he knew that the Sasuke vs. Gaara was what brought many people in. He knew that if he canceled the match it would cause many to become angry for not seeing the fight. Not to mention the Daimyos, who came from miles around just to see the fight. Sarutobi sighed and turned to the Chuunin.

Before he could tell the Chuunin what to do, the Kazekage spoke. "Is there something wrong, Hokage-san?" he said.

Sarutobi shook his hand as if to dismiss the problem. "No, no, just discussing some last minute changes," he said before he turned back to the Chuunin. "Have him wait until Sasuke arrives then start their match. Until then do all the other matches," he whispered to the Chuunin.

The Chuunin nodded before disappearing from the stand.

* * *

Author's Notes: This will be the first fight that I want other's response. I want to know what fights you want to see and who you prefer to win. The only exceptions would be Sasuke vs. Gaara, Kankuro vs. Shino, and Neji vs. Naruto. These will have a specific ending to the fights. So please tell me in what order you would like to see them and who would you like to win. Please note that the Sasuke vs. Gaara will be the last fight.

Ino vs. Sakura

Kankuro vs. Shino

Shikamaru vs. Temari

Neji vs. Naruto

Sasuke vs. Gaara

Sorry for the late write, but things have been busy with me. I recently got a new job, and have been working on getting my MCSE certification. Because of this, I have not been able to write as I should. Because of this I decided to make a longer chapter for everyone. I apologize, but for now, I will have to delay on all my writing until I am able to complete my certification. I thank the loyal readers who enjoy my work. Thank you.

PS I recently lost my pre-reader list. IF anyone is interested in pre-reading all of my work email me back… Let me know which ones you would like to read.


	14. Censorship

It seems I have offended an author with my right to protest. The author believes that they can stop me from my protest. Well…. The Storm-Mist account here is your email

From: The Storm-Mist account (  u/3184526/ )  
Reply URL:  . ?rwid=151125102

Your story is in violation of FFN Guidelines because it contains no story  
content. Please replace or remove the chapter.

-Storm of FoxClan-

Here is my reply… SUCK IT!

I have a right to type/write what I believe is free speech…

If you think differently so be it… I don't care… This is my work not yours. My thoughts and belief. Since you think it is okay call my store a violation… Then STOP READING!

As for adding stuff to my story KISS MY YELLOW ! #(*)&*$%^&!~)!

Here it is

Fist of Naruto

By The Unknown 007

Disclaimer: I don't own Fist of the North Star or Naruto. They belong to two great authors, so don't sue me, I have nothing to offer or sell save my eternal soul.

' ' – Thoughts

"**Heheheh"** – Kyuubi speaking

Chapter 11

The Chuunin Exams:

The Finals

Naruto screamed as he awoke with a start. For the past 10 days, Kenshiro continuously trained Naruto as the days and nights blurred to one continuous fight. Naruto was pushed to the extreme and beyond, as Ken would constantly use new techniques to force Naruto to create counters. Along with that, Ken had increased the amount of weight on Naruto, which made it even harder for Naruto. But through it all Naruto never complained, only got right back up and into fighting position. By the end of the 10 days, Naruto collapsed… mainly because there was nothing left within him.

Naruto looked around and soon realize that he was not alone. Rubbing the back of his head, he gave a silly embarrassed grin to his visitor… Shikamaru. "Heheheheee, yo?" he said.

Shikimaru shook his head. "Teeee, so troublesome," he said as he looked to his game. After he mesmerized where the game was, he turned back to Naruto. "Hey. Finally awake?" he asked.

"Where am I?" Naruto asked, as he sat down and turned his head.

"The hospital," Shikamaru said. "I heard you were asleep for three days straight."

"Three days? Three…" Naruto said groggily. He quickly became angry and leapt back up to his feet.

"W-What?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shikamaru, when are the final matches?" Naruto yelled.

"Tomorrow…" Shikamaru said.

Naruto sat back down. He breathed a sigh of relief. After all the training he had been through with Ken-sama, he was happy that he would not miss the final matches of the tournament. Although Ken-sama had reminded him not to show any techniques and to face each challenge with seriousness, the chance to show everyone what he could do still excited him. A feeling that he was proving to those people just how good he was, felt satisfying.

Suddenly, he felt something was wrong but he couldn't figure out what it was. As he looked around, he noticed the hourglass. "What's going on with that?" he asked Shikamaru.

"Hmmm," Shikamaru asked, he followed Naruto's eyes to the hourglass. "Oh, I don't know. It just stopped. It might be stuck," he said as Naruto grabbed the hourglass. He watched as Naruto moved the hourglass from one side to the other.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, the sand did not move at all, even when rotating the hourglass it remained the same. Naruto quickly went to the closet to get his clothes. He quickly put them on and looked at Shikamaru. "We need to go," he stated firmly.

"Naniii! What for?" Shikamaru asked. He did not know what Naruto was doing, but the fact that he quickly put on his clothes and was interested in the hourglass, he knew that it couldn't be good. Sure, he remembered the times when he and Naruto would gather with others, and have fun. He never saw Naruto in a serious mood, until recently. After the preliminary round, he began thinking that the Naruto that everyone thought was in fact not the "true" Naruto. Shikamaru shook his head; these thoughts could wait right now Naruto needed him to watch his back. Something that Shikamaru knew he would gladly do.

The door opened to Lee's hospital room. Sabuku no Gaara slowly entered the room. His memories were still free from the fight. He remembered each punch, each kick, and the pain that was produced when Lee broke through his defenses. For weeks, Gaara heard his mother whisper into his ear, demanding the blood of the attacker. Lee was able to get out of being punished, how it happened still haunts Gaara's mind. He had waited until that pink haired girl left before he entered into the room. He wanted to take his time with what he had planned for Lee. As he approached the bed, the sand began covering Lee's body. Gaara began remember how Lee had escaped from him, how his commander had destroyed the sand that was about to end Lee's life.

Flashback

Gaara grabbed his head in pain and asked, "Why? Why did you help him?"

Gai looked at Gaara and said, "He's… He's… an important subordinate I love."

Gaara looked at Gai and then at Naruto who was working on Lee. Naruto, without taking his eyes of Lee, said, "He is one of my important people. I will defend my life for him."

End Flashback

Love that was something that was always described to him but Gaara never knew what it truly meant. His mind flashed back to his early life, and Yashamaru… Gaara grabbed his head as the pain of his first intentional kill went through his mind. The sand responded and began wrapping around Lee. Gaara breathed heavily as he reached out his hand to crush this insect.

'My body…' screamed through the mind of Gaara as he found himself unable to move, 'won't move.' He turned his eyes to see two other Nins looking back at him… Shikamaru, and… Naruto.

"What the hell are you doing here, Gaara?" Naruto demanded as he looked intensely at Gaara. "What are you trying to do?"

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief, as he was able to use Kagemane no Jutsu to stop Gaara from moving. He remembered the preliminary match, how affective Gaara was with his sand.

He was beginning to get worried, as Gaara remained emotionless and stared at he and Naruto. He was about to repeat Naruto's question when Naruto quickly asked.

"Well! What did you try to do to Fuzzy Eyebrow?" Naruto demanded.

Gaara stared intently at Naruto, he could not hear his mother when this blond-haired spoke. It was as if his mother was listening to every word this kid said. He quickly steadied himself and looked at Naruto. "I tried to kill him," he stated in his quite voice.

"WHAT?" Both Naruto and Shikamaru exclaimed.

'How can he remain so calm?' Shikamaru thought. 'He shouldn't be able to move because of my Kagemane no Jutsu.' Shikamaru prepared himself and said, "Why do you need to do that? You won the match. Do you have some sort of personal grudge against him?"

"No." Gaara stated calmly. "I'm going to kill him, because I want him dead."

"You grew up in a bad environment, didn't you?" Shikamaru continued his questioning. "You're really egocentric." But Shikamaru was thinking differently from what he had said. 'Actually, this guy is weird. I'm getting the chills. If he does something, I don't think even Naruto will be able to handle him. Geez, what should I do…?'

"If you bother me, I will kill you, too." Gaara continued.

Naruto was squeezing his fists tight, he knew things were bad but Gaara seemed determined to piss him off. His distain behavior and his attempt to kill Fuzzy Eyebrows had put him on edge. He knew that

'I guess I'll bluff to see how he'll react.' Shikamaru thought. "We know that you're strong, since we saw your match with him. But… This guy here and I are pretty strong as well. We didn't show our strongest move in the preliminaries. And it's two versus one here. You're at a disadvantage. If you listen to us, we can let you go." Shikamaru said.

"I'm only going to say this once more. If you bother me, I'll kill you!" Gaara said.

'This guy…' Shikamaru thought. But before he could continue, Naruto began chuckling.

Naruto said, "You think your strong, you think you're a monster. You don't know the meaning of the word."

Naruto listen as Shikamaru and Gaara spoke. As Gaara explained how he became who he was and what was done to him. Naruto felt the blood drip from his fists; he watched Shikamaru response to Gaara's explanation. After Shikamaru's horrified expression on how Gaara was forced into becoming a weapon for the Sand, Naruto knew that Shikamaru was not ready to find out about Arashi's sacrifice and the village's response to his "gift".

Naruto listened to Gaara speech about his life and his torment that was brought upon him from his father. Naruto knew that this kind of traumatic life would cause an imbalance that would also help further Shukaku's attempt to corrupt his host. Thereby releasing himself into the world again. Naruto knew how he felt, for the first few years of his life he was tormented like Gaara. However, unlike Gaara, who was only attacked by his father, Naruto was constantly beaten and abused by the people of Konoha. Gaara, because of his relations with the living Kazekage, was shielded from the more violent attackers. Naruto shook those thoughts from his head as he felt Gaara begin his manipulation of the sand.

Naruto waited and allowed Gaara to continue with his sand manipulation. He faked fearing Gaara so that neither Shikamaru nor Gaara would think of him as a threat. Naruto could feel that Gai was coming closer and he prayed that Gai would show up before Naruto had to respond to the growing threat that Gaara was rising to as he It was with the intervention of Gai that cause Gaara to stand down and leave. Both Gai and Shikamaru watched him go.

Shikamaru suddenly remembered how Naruto rushed force him to come along and defend Lee. He turned to Naruto to ask him how he knew about Gaara, only to find a chibified Naruto doll with a note attached stating, "I'll see you tomorrow, Shika-chan!"

Shikamaru grumbled. "Troublesome," he growled.

Outside the hospital

Gaara was walking away from the hospital; he was contemplating how Gai's reaction had caused him pain. It hurt him, hearing the conviction from Gai about his student. He had never known why it did, but he wanted it to end.

But as much as Gai's word and conviction cause him pain, Gaara would wonder why his mother would stop speaking when Naruto talked. It sent a shiver up his spine because for as long as he remembered his mother would always speak with him. But for some reason he knew that his mother feared Naruto, and did not know what to do about it.

The Next Day

Naruto was waiting at the training ground. He looked up at the sky, he remembered back before Kenshiro took him away from this place. He remembered the curses, the yelling, the beatings… especially the beatings. He knew that on some level, Gaara had every right to be angry. However, even with all the excuses, it still did not excuse Gaara from the acts that he committed. Naruto took a deep breath; he felt that he would eventually have to deal with Gaara. He just hoped that he was strong enough to do face him.

Suddenly, Naruto feel a familiar presence hiding from him. "Hinata-chan," he said, "What have I said about lurking in the shadows?" He smiled as he heard a small squeak coming from the where Hinata was hiding.

Hinata slowly walked up to Naruto, she was still very shy around Naruto, even with the training that he gave her. However, once she was close to Naruto, she was surprised when Naruto produced a scroll and handed it to her. She looked at the scroll in wonder and then back to Naruto with a questioning look.

She remembered the first meeting what Naruto had said to her, about her style and what he planned to do with her.

Flashback

"Hina-chan?" Naruto called out as he watched Hinata did her kata.

"H-h-h-hai, Naru-kun?" Hinata stuttered.

"Why do you do that?" Naruto continued once he got her attention.

"Do what?" Hinata asked, curious about what Naruto was talking about

"Standing there and attacking, not moving?" Naruto replied, as he got closer.

"I-i-it's a part of my clan's style." Hinata stuttered, as Naruto got closer.

"Why, its not efficient for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"The style is straight forward power style. It is designed for a strong individual with a confrontational manner." Naruto observed. "The style does not suit you."

"I see…" Hinata replied sadly, believing that Naruto believed that she was weak.

"Here let me show you a better way for you. Attack me with your style."

Hinata was stunned; she knew what the style did to a person. "Ummm, Naru-kun, my style…"

"Yes, I know but if you don't infuse your strikes with chakra it won't hurt as much. Come on, I want to show you something."

Hinata stepped slowly forward, lightly striking Naruto. "No attack me like you did the training dummy."

Hinata swallowed hard, finally after a few minutes, Hinata attacked. Using the hard strike to the chest, Hinata used it to stagger Naruto. It would have worked if Naruto was there. Before the strike to touch him, Naruto vanished. Hinata stopped, only to feel two taps, one on her arms and one on her side. She turned to see Naruto on her left side, smiling, "See what I mean."

Hinata blushed red, 'Naru-kun is soo close…'

"Hina-chan… Hina… Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed trying to regain Hinata's attention.

"H-h-hai."

"Do you see what I mean?"

Hinata shook her head, still not seeing what Naruto was talking about.

Naruto took a deep breath and grabbed a stick from the ground and drew a line on the ground, "A direct and strong individual attacks straight forward, with determination that they will hit their opponent no matter what. However, from my observations of you, that is not the case."

"W-w-w-what do you mean?" Hinata asked, while thinking 'Naruto watches me…'

"What I mean is that you are not a straight line person." Naruto replied as he drew a circle around the straight line. "From what I have seen you don't like confrontation. You are willing to go with the group if it means less fighting."

"Y-y-you think I am a coward?" Hinata asked afraid of the question.

"No, I mean that the style does not fit you. You are flexible; you are willing to see the other side. Your style, however, does not suit you. It is inflexible when it comes to attacks, it is straightforward, attack, attack, attack. There is no movement to defend, no movement to dodge. If you wish to use the style, you must attack to kill. No exceptions. However, if you wish I could help you to create a new style."

'Create a new style… Could I do that?' Hinata thought as she looked down at the drawing that Naruto made. "I-i-is it possible?" she said in a quiet voice.

Naruto shook his head in affirmation. "It will take some time but I think that you will like it more than the style you are currently using. Want to get started?"

"H-h-hai," Hinata said.

Little did Hinata know that two people were listening in on her conversation with Naruto. Each of the listeners had a different thought in mind.

Hiashi thought, 'A new style, bah, probably not as effective as the original. Naruto just wants to ease Hinata's mind.'

Kurenai, however, thought 'A new style, is that possible. How interesting that Naruto could notice how ineffective Hinata is at the Hyuuga style. I wonder how different the new style will be? May be I should check it out once they are done with it.'

End Flashback

"This scroll is from very wise man, use it well, Hinata-chan," Naruto stated. "Do it in secret. And remember, NEVER let anyone but your Heir use this scroll, and the secrets I taught you." Naruto said, as he saw Hinata nod. "Now is there anything I can do for you," he asked.

Hinata took her eyes away from the scroll and blushed as she stared at Naruto. "H-h-hai…" she stated softly. "Naruto about Neji-"

However, before she could speak, Naruto raised his hand, and stopped her. "I know you want me to take it easy on him right?"

Hinata nodded her head.

"Normally I would take that under advisement, however, he needs to see some things that will change his and your family's view of the world. Not to mention how others will perceive them. I want you to come and watch as well. Okay?" Naruto said.

Hinata nodded.

Naruto smiled, "Good, I will see you there." Naruto turned around and began running toward the arena.

Hinata watched as Naruto ran toward the stadium. 'He believes in me,' she thought as she held the scroll that he gave her. She had heard the story behind what the scroll, and the power that it had in its pages. She swore to herself that she would become stronger, for him… for… him… Hinata's face became bright red as two streams of blood shot from her nose.

Kiba came looking for Hinata, only to find her on the ground. Her face was still bright red with a big smile on it. Kiba lifted an eyebrow, and shook Hinata. "Oy, Hinata…Hinata! HINATA!"

SMASH!

Kiba couldn't understand why there were multiple Akuras running around him. He remembered yelling at Hinata then the next thing he knew that he was flying and then stopped suddenly.

"Sorry Kiba-san!" Hinata said as she was running to Kiba. She was shocked at how far Kiba traveled. She remembered him yelling at her and she just reacted.

"Noooo, Mmmoommmmmyyyyy, Iwanta stay up and play withAkrrrzzzzzzz" Kiba said as he lost conscious again.

Hinata sweatdropped…

Naruto was running toward the stadium, he knew that he could go faster, but he figured that he could waste time to arrive in style. As he ran, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Naruto nii-chan!" the voice cried out.

Naruto skidded to a halt and looked around to see who called him. He finally rested his eyes to a familiar sight. "Konohamaru?" he asked.

Konohamaru smiled, "I've arrived to save the day!" he exclaimed as he did a thumb's up for Naruto.

Naruto looked at Konohamaru questioningly. "Konohamaru, why are you here?" he said as he walked Konohamaru.

"We'll talk later. Come over here!" Konohamaru said as he turned and ran. "I know of a secret way to get to the stage directly!" he continued.

Naruto raised one of his eyebrows and decided to follow him. "After all," he thought, "It would only take him a few minutes to get there." He followed Konohamaru and watched as Konohamaru knelt down and walked around some of the tall grass to show a metal sheet.

"Eeeehehehehe, they repaired it." Konohamaru said.

Naruto smiles and grabs Konohamaru. "Let me show you a faster way," he said. Naruto disappeared with Konohamaru in a swirl of leaves.

The Arena

The group had gathered, the arena had gathered to full capacity. In the arena ground, every contestant had gathered except two: Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. However, a bright flash had appeared in front of the contestant. Naruto and Konohamaru appeared within a swirl of leaves. Naruto turned and scanned the arena once he saw Sarutobi he smiled. "Hey, Old Man… CATCH!" he cried as he grabbed Konohamaru and threw him to Sarutobi.

Sarutobi barely had time to catch his grandson. But once, he did, he grumbled about overzealous smartass yellow-haired genins, just as the tournament began.

On the Arena ground

Naruto looked around and noticed someone missing. "Where is Sasuke?" he asked. When he saw that no one knew where he was, he shook his head. "I hope Kakashi-sensei does not give Sasuke lessons on being late," he said as he imagined Sasuke with a facemask holding the Icha Icha Paradise. He quickly shook his head and waited to see what would happen with the first fight.

In the Kage Seating area

After sending Konohamaru back to school, Saturobi saw a Chunnin appear next to him. The Chuunin appeared beside the Hokage and whispered in his ear. "Hokage-sama, Sasuke has not arrived, what do we do?" the Chuunin asked.

Before the Hokage could comment, he heard several voices coming from around the corner. 'I wonder who could they be,' he thought. The answer soon became apparent when seven people showed up. Three of them were chunins, but the others impressed the Hokage the most. Raikage, Tsuchikage, and Mizukage had arrived in the stadium. Hokage was impressed as he wondered who these three kages were here for, since none of the genin were in the tournament. However, that changed once he saw the final person. 'Kenshiro-sama' he thought, as he finally understood who the three kages were here for. The Hokage bowed to the three kages and said, "My, my, I never thought I would see all of us here at one time."

Raikage gruffed as Tsuchikage spoke. "Well even though our Genin teams did not make it, there is one person that we all want to see."

"Oh?" Kazekage asked, "And who might that be?"

Mizukage scoffed, "As if you did not know, I bet that you are here to see how your 'weapon' does against the 'First'."

'The first, what the hell are these idiots talking about?' Orochimaru thought. 'Damn… with the other kages here it will be harder for me to kill him. Wait doesn't the Tsuchikage still despise Konoha… Maybe I can use this to my advantage. If that's the case, I can persuade the Raikage to fight for me to get the Hyuga eyes. And the Mizukage is still on the bloodline hunt; this means that I can get all three to follow my lead. Kukukukuku…' Poor delusional Orochimaru.

The Hokage looked at the audience; he knew that the Sasuke vs. Gaara was what brought many people in. He knew that if he canceled the match it would cause many to become angry for not seeing the fight. Not to mention the Daimyos, who came from miles around just to see the fight. Sarutobi sighed and turned to the Chuunin.

Before he could tell the Chuunin what to do, the Kazekage spoke. "Is there something wrong, Hokage-san?" he said.

Sarutobi shook his hand as if to dismiss the problem. "No, no, just discussing some last minute changes," he said before he turned back to the Chuunin. "Have him wait until Sasuke arrives then start their match. Until then do all the other matches," he whispered to the Chuunin.

The Chuunin nodded before disappearing from the stand.

The Arena Floor

The Chuunin arrived and whispered into Genma ear. With a nod from Genma, the Chuunin disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Genma then turned to the crowd. "The Sasuke vs. Gaara match will be postponed for later. In the mean time, we will continue with the other matches. Will all other competitors leave the battlefield and the two fighters please remain on the field."

Neji vs. Naruto

Naruto makes a fist toward Neji – Naruto then moved his had to the either side of his head and use his thumbs to put pressure to his temple. Tears of blood flowed from his eyes. When he opened eyes, it shocked and amazed Neji. Naruto's eyes were pure white, which only meant one thing.

"Byakugan!" Neji cried. He stared at Naruto. "Your blind," Neji yelled. "Why? Why did you blind yourself?"

This caused everyone to gasp as they heard what Neji declared. 'Why would Naruto blind himself?' they all thought. But that soon ended as Naruto quickly exclaimed.


End file.
